ON  "CULTURE"  AND 
"A  LIBERAL  EDUCATION" 

With  Lists  of  Books 
Which  Can  Aid  In  Acquit: ng  Them 

JESSE    LEE    BENNETT 


fli 


ON  "CULTURE"  AND  "A  LIBERAL 
EDUCATION" 


ON   "CULTURE"  AND 
"A    LIBERAL    EDUCATION" 

With  Lists  of  Books  Which  Can 
Aid  In  Acquiring  Them 

By 
JESSE  LEE  BENNETT 


"Men  go  to  books  not — Heaven  forbid— for 
instruction,  but  for  warmth  and  light,  for  a 
thousand  new  perceptions  that  struggle  in- 
articulately within  themselves,  for  the  en- 
largement of  their  experience,  the  echo  of 
their  discords  and  the  companionship  of 
beauty  and  terror  for  their  troubled  souls. 
They  go  to  literature  for  life,  for  more  life 
and  keener  life,  for  life  as  it  crystallizes 
into  higher  articulateness  and  deeper  sig- 
nificance. The  enlargement  and  clarifi- 
cation of  men's  experience  —  that  is  the 
function  of  literature" 

Ludwig  Lewisohn 


BALTIMORE 

THE  ARNOLD  COMPANY 
1922 


Copyright,  1922 
By  JESSE  LEE  BENNETT 
All  rights  reserved 


Printed  in  the  United  States  of  America  at  the  Press  of  G.  ALFRED    PETERS    CO. 


FOREWORD 

During  journalistic  experience  of  fifteen 
years,  the  author  of  this  book  has  received 
many  scores  of  letters  from  men  and  women 
of  all  ages  and  classes  requesting  lists  of  books 
which  could  help  them  to  gain  "culture"  or 
"a  liberal  education". 

This  book  has  been  prepared  to  meet  the 
demand  evidenced  by  these  letters. 

It  seeks  to  show  that  there  is  nothing  mys- 
terious or  artificial  about  culture.  It  seeks 
to  show  that  culture  is  not  something  tepid 
and  weak  to  be  gained  by  repression  and  re- 
straint, but  a  thing  vigorous  and  robust  to  be 
won  by  the  unfolding  and  developing  of  the 
whole  nature  of  the  individual. 

It  seeks  to  show  that  anyone  who  suf- 
ficiently desires  can  secure  "a  liberal  educa- 
tion" without  the  assistance  of  colleges  or  of 
teachers. 

It  seeks  to  direct  reading  in  such  fashion 
that  broad  comprehension  of  the  field  of 
knowledge  can  be  gained.  It  seeks  to  afford 
a  coordinated  understanding  which  sets  of 
"classics"  and  "masterpieces"  and  "best 

49691*3 


Foreword 

books"  cannot  possibly  give  until  mental 
framework  has  been  constructed  into  which 
the  various  volumes  comprising  such  sets  can 
properly  be  fitted. 

It  is  obvious  that  an  essay  upon  culture 
should  have  some  of  the  quality  of  rhythm 
and  serenity  which  any  real  culture  must 
bestow.  Yet  it  may  be  found  that  the  fol- 
lowing essay  has,  rather,  a  somewhat  argu- 
mentative— almost  controversial — -tone.  It 
may  appear  a  defense  as  well  as  an  exposition 
of  culture. 

Some  explanation  of  this  anomaly  is  due. 
It  follows: 

The  excessively  materialistic  phase  of  Amer- 
ican civilization  is  obviously  beginning  to 
pass.  Wealth  and  ease  have  now  been  pos- 
sessed so  long  that  aspirations  toward  aes- 
thetic and  cultural  development  are  every- 
where manifest.  The  bitter  arraignments  of 
American  lack  of  culture  made  by  such  writers 
as  Mencken,  VanWyck  Brooks,  Sinclair  Lewis, 
Sherwood  Anderson  and  many  others  have 
had  effect.  All  classes  of  the  population  have 
become  conscious  of  certain  deficiencies  in  the 
national  life  and  are  beginning  to  attempt  to 
correct  them. 


Foreword 

The  first  response  to  this  changed  national 
attitude  has  been  the  immediate  rise  of  a 
swarm  of  quacks  seeking  to  supply  the  de- 
mand for  some  indesignate  thing  called  "cul- 
ture" by  all  sorts  of  meretricious  schemes  and 
devices. 

The  journals  of  the  country  are  flooded  with 
advertisements  offering  "culture"  much  as  if 
it  were  a  predigested  breakfast  food.  By 
some  of  these  advertisements  "culture"  is 
made  synonymous  with  a  highly  artificial  and 
unreal  etiquette.  By  others  it  is  made  synon- 
ymous with  mere  voluble  patter  about  the 
most  sensational  and  artificial  aspects  of  lit- 
erature, music  and  art.  Even  by  the  adver- 
tisements of  legitimate  and  able  publishers  it 
is  often  made  synonymous  with  mere  sterile 
and  uncoordinated  information. 

Everywhere  there  is  the  implicit  assumption 
that  culture  can  be  standardized,  packed  and 
labelled  for  our  purchase  and  consumption, 
that  little  effort  is  necessary  for  its  acquisition. 

It  is  not  to  be  denied  that  the  stridency  of 
the  assertions  of  these  multitudinous  quacks 
has  left  some  influence  upon  the  minds  even 
of  those  who  deeply  and  sincerely  desire  to 
develop  themselves  and  to  gain  that  real  cul- 
ture which  dignifies  and  ennobles  life. 


foreword 

At  the  present  time,  therefore,  it  appears 
essential  not  only  to  insist  upon  what  culture 
is  but  also  to  insist  upon  what  it  is  not. 

Destructive  as  well  as  constructive  efforts 
are  necessary.  And  destructive  efforts  can- 
not be  suave  and  gentle. 

That  is  the  explanation  of  any  staccato,  un- 
rhythmic  quality  which  may  be  felt  in  the 
following  essay. 


ON  "CULTURE"  AND  "A  LIBERAL 
EDUCATION" 

Culture  is  not  a  mere  veneer,  a  garment, 
something  apart  from  life.  It  is  an  integral 
part  of  life. 

Colleges  and  universities  do  not  always  give 
it.  Truly  cultured  men  ar^ JnHeed,.  almost 
as  rare  in  colleges  and  universities  as  they  are 
outside  them. 

The  only  really  educated  men  are  self- 
educated. 

Certainly  the  only  truly  cultured  men  are 
s  elPcul  t i  v  a  ted  • 

The  first — and  inexorable — essential  to  cul-^ 
ture  is  a  sincere  desire  for  growth  and  self- 
development,  a  sincere  desire  to  live  the  fullest 
and  richest  life  that  is  possible. 

Culture  is  the  art  of  life.  Culture  broad- 
ens, deepens,  quickens  the  current  of  life. 

The  only  culture  worth  consideration  be- 
comes as  much  a  part  of  a  man's  or  woman's 
being  as  the  lungs  or  stomach — as  necessary 
to  them  as  air  or  food. 

The  acquiring  of  culture  is  the  developing 
of  an  avid  hunger  for  knowledge  and  beauty. 


14  ON  "CULTURE"  AND  "A  LIBERAL  EDUCATION" 

Such  culture  cannot  be  bought  as  one  buys 
a  house  or  clothes  or  a  motor-car. 

It  cannot  be  gained  by  one  who  desires  only 
to  impress  other  people  with  allegedly  "su- 
perior" knowledge. 

1 1  can _be_  ac£ujre^only JbjLthe  jy^&jEin  d  exer- 
cise:~of  a  great  and  sincere  curiosity — a  desire 
toTknow  about,  to  absorb  and  to  enjoy  all 
the  infinite  treasures  of  knowledge,  of  beauty, 
of  art  and  thought  and  aspiration  which  the 
finest  and  rarest  men  and  women  of  all  ages 
have  created  or  produced. 

It  can  be  acquired  only  through  effort  act- 
uated by  a  sincere  desire  to  "cultivatelljane's 
'mind  and  sympathies  and  appreciation  much 
as  a  farmer  must  cultivate  his  plants. 

The  world  is  an  infinitely  complicated 
place.  And  every  man  and  woman  is,  ulti- 
mately, alone.  Alone  in  a  universe  filled  with 
terror  and  pain  and  misery  but  also  filled  with 
wonder,  with  beauty  and  with  splendor. 

Knowledge  of  this  wonder^  this  beauty,  this 
splendor  can  do  much  to  remove  the  dread  of 
the  harsher  aspects  of  existence  which  comes 
— at  times — to  all  of  us. 

To  pass  through  life  without  knowledge  or 
understanding  of  what  the  great  adventure  of 


ON  "CULTURE"  AND  "A  LIBERAL  EDUCATION"  15 

living  has  meant  to  millions  of  other  men  and 
women  of  other  times  and  lands,  to  pass 
through  life  without  knowledge  or  under- 
standing of  all  the  great  treasures  of  thought, 
of  literature,  of  music,  of  science,  of  art  which 
are  the  common  heritage  of  all  truly  cultivated 
men  throughout  the  world  is  to  rob  oneself  of 
the  most  enduring  satisfaction  of  life. 

Such  knowledge  and  understanding  consti- 
tutes the  background  of  culture. 

It  can  be  acquired  by  anyone  who  suf- 
ficiently desires.  No  teachers  are  necessary. 
No  college  is  necessary.  ^All  that  is  required 
is  a  guide  to  take  you  a  short  distance  through 
the  first  confusing  wilderness  of  books  and  to 
point  out  some  of  the  paths  and  directions 
which  will  take  you  to  the  treasure  house 
which  contains  the  common  heritage  of  all 
mankind. 

Such  knowledge  and  understanding  is  the 
birthright  of  all  the  ardent,  generous  and  am- 
bitious souls  who  really  desire  it.  Nothing 
but  their  own  inertia  or  apathy  can  deprive 
them  of  it  once  the  keys  which  open  the  first 
few  doors  and  gates  which  lead  to  their  king- 
dom have  been  put  in  their  hands. 

It  is  the  object  and  purpose  of  this  little 
book  to  seek  to  serve  as  a  guide  to  your  her- 


16  ON  "CULTURE"  AND  "A  LIBERAL  EDUCATION" 

itage,  to  serve  as  a  key  which  will  open  a  few 
of  the  many  doors  which  lead  from  the  tan- 
gled, muddled  and  confused  world  of  every- 
day to  the  serene,  spacious  and  nobly-ordered 
world  of  culture. 

But,  inasmuch  as  mere  information  does 
not  constitute  culture,  no  mention  of  specific 
books  can  wisely  be  made  until  the  true  na- 
ture of  culture  has  been  depicted  from  many 

ewpoints. 

T^or  the  acquisition  of  culture  requires  more 
than  mere  reading.  It  requires  a  certain  at- 
titude toward  life.  It  requires  a  certain  con- 
ception of  one's  place  in  the  great  scheme  of 
things.  It  requires  not  only  a  keen  desire 
for  personal  growth  and  expansion  but  a  de- 
liberate enlargement  of  one's  sympathies  and 
tolerances;  a  study  and  appraisal  of  one's 
prejudices  and  preconceptions. 

Not,  alone,  what  books  you  read  matters. 
More  depends  upon  what  you  bring  to  those 
books,  what  attitude  you  adopt  toward 
them.  Few  books  can  teach  you  very  much. 
But  they  can  stimulate  you.  They  can  help 
to  clarify  your  own  thoughts,  your  own  per- 
sonality. They  can  widen  your  horizon. 
Above  all  they  can  give  you  a  new  sense  of 


ON  "CULTURE"  AND  "A  LIBERAL  EDUCATION"  17 

the  infinite  complexity,  the  beauty,  the  mar- 
vellous potentialities  of  life.  And  that  is  the 
only  real  culture.  Its  essence  is  toleration, 
openness  of  mind,  self-discipline,  aspiration 
and  desire  for  growth. 

Culture  is  the  art  of  life.  It's  acquisition 
implies  the  deliberate  shaping  of  one's  self  in 
order  to  live  the  greatest  possible  number  of 
hours  of  one's  life  on  the  highest,  noblest 
plane  of  being. 

Let  us  repeat  most  emphatically:  Mere 
information  does  not  constitute  culture. 

Information  is  a  part  of  culture  but  a  rela- 
tively unimportant  part. 

There  are  innumerable  well-informed  men 
and  women  who  are  not,  nor  ever  will  be, 
cultivated  men  and  women. 

The  mere  reading  of  endless  books  cannot, 
of  itself,  entitle  a  man  or  women  to  be  con- 
sidered "cultivated." 

It  is  not  so  simple  as  that. 

Culture  is  something  infinitely  more  com- 
plex than  knowledge. 

Culture  is  always  keen,  alive,  alert. 
Knowledge  may  often  be  dead,  dull,  tedious. 

Let  us  repeat  again:  Culture  is  an  attitude 
toward  life. 


18  ON  "CULTURE"  AND  "A  LIBERAL  EDUCATION" 

It  is  the  deliberate  "cultivation"  of  the 
whole  personality — senses,  intellect,  emotions, 
sympathies  and  interests. 

It  first  begins  to  germinate  when  one  sin- 
cerely seeks  growth,  development,  wider 
knowledge,  richer  experience. 

It  begins  to  develop  when  the  disinterested 
use  of  the  mind,  and  contact  with  nature,  with 
literature,  with  music,  with  the  fine  arts  be- 
comes as  vitally  necessary  to  a  man  or  woman 
as  food  or  drink.  It  flowers  when  the  actual 
hunger  for  knowledge  and  beauty  becomes  as 
great  as  any  other  hunger. 

Culture  exists  when  one  has  learned  to  de- 
light in  the  free  use  of  the  mind  and  of  the 
imagination.  Culture  exists  when  one  has 
learned  to  delight  in  thought,  in  art,  in  music, 
in  ever-increasing  understanding  of  all  that  is 
beautiful,  gracious,  well-ordered  in  the  aspi- 
rations of  man. 

Keep  always  in  mind  that  culture  can  never 
be  secured  by  painful  effort.  Information 
and  knowledge  can  be  secured  in  that  fashion. 
And  information  and  knowledge  are  essential 
preliminaries  to  culture/  But  they  become  cul- 
ture only  when  they  are  acquired  with  and  bring 
delight,  when  they  are  not  painstakingly  sought 
but  ardently,  avidly  and  eagerly  absorbed. 


ON  "CULTURE"  AND  "A  LIBERAL  EDUCATION"  19 

Some  wise  man  has  said:  "Do  not  pursue 
culture.  You  will  scare  her  to  death/' 
There  is  truth  in  the  witticism. 

Culture  cannot  possibly  be  gained  by  fren- 
zied pursuit. 

It  must  be  gained,  rather,  as  a  tree  draws 
sustenance — by  putting  roots  ever  deeper  into 
the  soil  of  reality,  of  sympathy,  of  aspiration, 
of  life  at  its  keenest  and  finest. 

Culture  is  sap — the  sap  of  life. 

You  must  reach  down  roots  of  sincerity 
and  aspiration  for  it  to  be  able  to  flow  into 
your  mind  and  heart. 

But  keep  this  axiom  clearly  in  mind:  If 
you  seek  culture  read  no  book  which  bores  you 
or  seems  dull  or  stupid  to  you.  You  may  ac- 
quire valuable  information  in  that  way.  You 
may  acquire  practical  knowledge  which  will 
help  you  to  make  a  living  in  that  way. 

But  not  culture.  The  book  which  bores  you 
is  a  book  either  which  has  no  message  for  you 
or  a  book  for  which  you  are  not  yet  ready^. 

If  you  have  a  real  curiosity  and  a  sincere 
desire  to  learn,  no  book  capable  of  benefiting 
you  can  possibly  appear  dull  or  stupid  to  you. 
It  may  appear  strange.  It  may  require  much 
concentration  and  close  attention  to  understand. 
But  that  concentration  and  close  attention  will 


20  ON  "CULTURE"  AND  "A  LIBERAL  EDUCATION" 

be  pleasurable  to  you  if  you  feel  that  you  are 
really  learning  any  thing  worth  while.  If  the  book 
cannot  hold  your  interest  something  is  wrong. 

Books,  music,  pictures,  thoughts,  people — 
whenever  these  bore  you  they  are  either  not 
for  you  or  you  are  not  ready  for  them  Do 
not  force  yourself  to  try  to  like  them.  For 
the  chances  are  that  you  will  never  succeed. 

There  are  endless  books.  There  is  endless 
music.  There  are  endless  pictures,  thoughts, 
people.  Somewhere — no  matter  who  or  what 
you  are — there  are  books,  music,  pictures, 
thoughts,  people  which  will  delight  you. 

You  must  seek  until  you  find  them.  Seek 
without  ever  losing  hope.  For  you  will  find 
them  if  you  seek  sufficiently.  And  inevitably 
they  will  lead  you  to  others  which  you  will 
also  like.  And,  after  a  space,  you  may  even 
discover  that  you  can  find  joy  and  zest  in 
things  which  once  bored  you  illimitably. 

But  remember  always:  Nothing  which  bores 
you  can  give  you  culture.  The  essential  quality 
of  culture  is  zest  and  delight. 

Culture  is  not  a  soft  thing. 

It  is  not  a  mere  decorative  thing  for  tea- 
parties  and  dinner-tables.  It  is  not  a  mere 
class  distinction  nor  a  mere  luxury. 


ON  "CULTURE"  AND  "A  LIBERAL  EDUCATION"  21 

There  are  people  without  culture  in  the  so- 
called  highest  circles  of  society.  There  are 
people  with  the  essentials  of  rich  and  true 
culture  in  the  so-called  lowest  circles  of  society. 

For  rnlfnrp  is  fhe  fullest  pOSSJH?  growth  of 
the  finesf  hnrpan  qualifies.  It  is  the  rounded 
and  harmonious  development  of  the  whole 
nature.  True,  it  requires — at  some  time  in 
the  life — a  certain  leisure,  a  certain  oppor- 
tunity for  contact  with  art  and  the  amenities. 
But  do  not  make  the  mistake  of  believing  that 
these  opportunities  will,  of  themselves,  pro- 
duce cultured  people  in  any  real  sense.  They 
will  produce  a  surface  culture,  a  culture  which 
is  veneer.  But  that  is  ^\Lj 

A  poor  man  with  the  attitude  of  culture  is 
infinitely  better  equipped  to  derive  enduring 
satisfaction  and  happiness  from  life  than  a 
rich  man  without  culture  and  dependent  upon 
physical  activity  and  physical  pleasures  for 
gratification. 

On  the  other  hand  a  wealthy  man  who  is 
truly  cultivated  is  enabled  to  derive  from  his 
wealth  satisfactions  and  delights  little 
dreamed  of  by  mere  plutocrats. 

.Culture  refines.  Thaf  fc  jrjpvifahle. But 

it  is  of  value  only  when  there  is  something 
worth  refining. 


22  ON  "CULTURE"  AND  "A  LIBERAL  EDUCATION" 

To  be  worthy  of  the  description:  "a  cul- 
tured man  or  woman"  one  must,  first,  be  a 
real  man  or  woman. 

The  "freaks/'  the  top-lofty  "high-brows," 
the  offensive  "superior"  people  who  prate  so 
much  of  "culture," — do  not  be  fooled  or  mis- 
led or  thrown  off  your  course  by  them. 
They  are  the  parasites,  the  froth  of  culture. 
They  are  not  men  and  women  of  culture. 

Never  forget  this  fact:  the  great  thought, 
the  great  art  of  the  world  has  not  been  pro- 
duced for  the  amusement  of,  or  the  monopoly 
by,  "the  short-haired  women  and  the  long- 
haired men."  It  has  been  produced,  through 
an  irresistible  urge,  by  real  men  and  women 
for  real  men  and  women. 

It  is  the  common  heritage  of  us  all — a  her- 
itage of  which  nobody  but  ourselves  can  rob  us. 

Innumerable  great  minds  and  souls,  down 
long  thousands  of  years,  have  abstracted  from 
their  experience  --  and  genius  —  thoughts, 
dreams,  beauties,  aspirations  to  assist,  to  in- 
spire, to  gladden  all  their  fellows  in  their  pas- 
sage through  life. 

All  men  and  women,  who  will,  may  have 
their  lives  vitalised,  broadened  and  bright- 
ened by  this  great  inheritance  of  the  entire 
race. 


ON  "CULTURE"  AND  "A  LIBERAL  EDUCATION"  23 

There  has  prevailed  altogether  too  long  the 
sinister  and  terrible  mistake  that  culture  is 
some  mysterious  thing  which  only  the  rich, 
the  wise,  the  learned  can  hope  to  possess. 

All  that  constitutes  culture  has  been  produced 
and  now  exists  for  normal^  average ',  wholesome ', 
sincere  men  and  women. 

It  can  afford  joys  and  delights  as  vital  as 
business,  as  exciting  as  poker,  as  wholesome 
as  golf  or  motoring. 

It  can  open  a  wonderful  and  inspiring  world 
utterly  unknown  or  little  suspected  by  those 
who  have  failed  to  find  the  right  key. 

Too  long  have  misconceptions  and  faulty 
methods  of  education  hidden  that  key,  de- 
prived millions  of  men  and  women  of  the  new 
life  and  vigor,  the  glorious  vision  and  the 
rich  color  which  should — and  can — suffuse 
their  daily  lives. 

The  life  of  every  man  and  woman  is  defi- 
nitely limited.  It  is  divided  into  a  certain 
number  of  years,  of  months,  of  weeks,  of 
days,  of  hours,  of  minutes,  of  seconds. 

In  a  certain  sense  every  one  of  those  sec- 
onds is  the  center  of  eternity. 

It  is  one  of  the  seconds  of  our  life.  It 
passes.  And  it  will  never  return. 


24  ON  "CULTURE"  AND  "A  LIBERAL  EDUCATION" 

It  can  represent  growth.  It  can  represent 
mere  stagnation.  It  can  represent  retrogres- 
sion. We  can  go  forward,  we  can  stand 
still,  we  can  go  backward. 

Surely  it  seems  to  be  the  part  of  wisdom  to 
seek  to  make  most  of  our  seconds  represent 
growth.  Surely  it  seems  to  be  the  part  of 
wisdom  to  seek  to  live  as  greatly,  as  nobly,  as 
splendidly  as  possible  for  the  largest  possible 
number  of  the  seconds,  minutes  and  days  of 
our  life. 

Instinct  prompts  us  to  seek  the  greatest 
possible  physical  gratifications.  Few  of  us 
are  content  with  second-rate  food,  or  shelter 
or  clothing  if  we  can  secure  first-rate  food  or 
shelter  or  clothing. 

But  instinct — and  proper  education — do 
not  yet  prompt  us  to  seek  the  greatest  mental, 
emotional  and  spiritual  gratification  during 
our  limited  lives. 

We  are  too  often  content  to  waste  our  pre- 
cious hours  of  leisure  on  second-  or  tenth-rate 
books  and  music  and  thoughts  when  we  might 
just  as  well  have  the  best  books,  the  best 
music,  the  best  thoughts. 

The  analogy  is  absolute.  The  mind  and 
heart  and  soul  need  food  as  much  as  the  body. 
What  can  be  more  absurd  then  to  demand — 


ON  "CULTURE"  AND  "A  LIBERAL  EDUCATION*'  25 

and  to  struggle  for — the  best  food  for  our 
bodies  and  to  be  content  with  dirty  or  adul- 
terated or  unwholesome  food  for  our  higher 
natures? 

The  truly  cultured  man  does  not  waste  the 
precious  moments  of  his  life  on  vulgar  tri- 
vialities. He  does  not  starve  his  mind  and 
emotions  nor  feed  them  trash  and  offal. 

Do  not  imagine  that  culture  is  of  no  prac- 
tical value.  Culture  broadens  horizons.  It 
lessens  the  distress  caused  by  confusing  per- 
sonal maladjustments  to  life.  It  accustoms 
one  to  think  in  broad  terms.  It  gives  un- 
derstanding of  the  broad  essentials  of  life  and 
affairs.  All  of  this  is  invaluable  in  the  prac- 
tical details  of  life.  Statistics  show  that  even 
in  a  severely  practical  country  like  America 
the  liberally  educated  man  is  usually  the  em- 
ployer of  the  technically  educated  man. 

We  see  that  culture  is  not  as  simple  a  thing 
as  we  may  have  believed. 

Let  us  consider  one  more  aspect  of  culture 
which  is  essential  to  any  successful  journey 
through  the  wilderness  of  books  or  to  any  suc- 
cessful use  of  the  scepter  of  that  "kingdom  of 
the  mind"  of  which  a  wise  poet  sang. 


26  ON  "CULTURE"  AND  "A  LIBERAL  EDUCATION" 

There  are  over  1,700,000,000  human  beings 
now  on  earth. 

Billions  of  billions  of  human  beings  have 
lived  during  the  past  500,000  years. 

Yet  can  it  be  denied  that  most  human  be- 
ings merely  duplicate  and  reduplicate  the  ex- 
periences, the  emotions,  the  thoughts  of  each 
other? 

Only  here  and  there  do  you  find  the  highly 
individualized  man  or  woman  who  strives  to 
think  new  thoughts,  to  experience  new  emo- 
tions; who  seeks  deliberately  to  shape  and 
mold  his  or  her  life  as  a  sculptor  molds  plastic 
clay. 

Only  here  and  there — most  infrequently — 

do  you  find  a  man  or  woman  who  appears  at 

\  all  aware  of  the  infinite  possibilities  for  growth 

I  that  life  affords  us  all,  if  we  will  but  seize  them. 

Yet  that  man  or  woman  is,  really,  the  only 
truly  cultivated  man  or  woman. 

All  civilization,  all  progress,  all  knowledge, 
all  beauty  have  been  produced  by  the  dis- 
ciplined aspiration  of  such  men  down  the  ages. 

Their  imagination  has  rendered  possible  the 
dream  of  finer  ways  of  life. 

Their  intelligence  has  rendered  possible  the 
formulation  of  a  method  of  realizing  that 
dream. 


ON  "CULTURE"  AND  "A  LIBERAL  EDUCATION"  27 

Their  will  has  caused  them  to  forge  ahead 
despite  all  obstacles. 

Their  courage  has  kept  the  will  from  falter- 
ing. 

Imagination.    Intelligence.    Will.    Courage. 

Those  are  the  four  supreme  human  quali- 
ties which  have  brought  man  out  of  barbarism. 

Those  are  the  four  supreme  qualities  which 
must  be  nurtured  and  developed  and  exer- 
cised by  all  who  would  acquire  or  add  to  that 
great  store  of  knowledge  and  beauty  which 
constitutes  culture. 

Again : 

Every  man  and  woman  of  the  more  highly 
developed  races — certainly  every  man  and 
woman  ever  likely  to  read  this  far  in  this 
took — has  millions  of  brain  cells  which  are 
never  used.  Yet,  with  proper  stimulation 
and  training,  all  these  cells  may  be  made  to 
function.  And  the  passing  years  will,  bring 
—not  the  usual  boredom,  complacency  and 
inertia — but  an  infinite  capacity  for  growth 
and  enjoyment,  an  insatiable  appetite  for  all 
the  inexhaustible  stores  of  recorded  experi- 
ence and  of  created  beauty  which  constitute 
literature  and  the  arts. 

So  we  come  to  these  inevitable  conclusions: 


28  ON  "CULTURE"  AND  "A  LIBERAL  EDUCATION" 

Each  of  us  is  an  adventurer  in  the  great 
mystery  of  life. 

Each  of  us  has  infinite  possibilities  for 
growth. 

When  we  begin  to  gain  some  conception  of 
our  real  place  in  the  scheme  of  things  we  grow 
eager  to  know  all  that  there  is  to  be  known 
about  this  mysterious  universe  in  which  we 
live;  about  those  who  have  inhabited  our 
planet  before  us;  about  all  the  life  that  is 
lived  on  the  planet  with  us.  We  grow  eager 
to  enjoy  all  the  treasures  that  the  wisest  and 
finest  and  best  of  our  predecessors  and  our 
contemporaries  have  produced.  We  grow 
eager  to  develop  to  the  limit  of  our  capacities. 

We  are  ready  for  self-cultivation. 

It  will  not  be  an  abrupt,  sudden  and  im- 
mediate process.  We  will  not  have  a  sudden 
transition  from  one  condition  to  another. 

There  is  nothing  sudden  in  these  matters. 

Rather  they  represent  a  slow  and  gradual 
unfolding,  development  and  growth. 

Like  seeds. 

We  plow  certain  parts  of  our  mind  which 
are  like  rich  fields  that  have  long  lain  fallow. 
We  plant  certain  seeds  of  new  understanding, 
new  aspiration.  Slowly  but  surely  the  seeds 
germinate  and  send  out  little  roots  and  ten- 


ON  "CULTURE"  AND  "A  LIBERAL  EDUCATION"  29 

drils.     These  we  must  nurture  carefully.     We 
must  cultivate  the  fields;  relentlessly  root  upj 
the  weeds  of  cynicism,  apathy,  vulgarity,  pet-j 
tiness,  crude  animal  instincts. 

The  plants  will  grow.  They  will  become 
strong.  Our  minds  and  souls  will  become 
rich  gardens  bearing  splendid  blossoms  and 
fruits. 

The  degree  of  our  ardent  sense  of  the  mys- 
tery and  wonder  and  purpose  of  life  will  regu- 
late the  strength  and  vigor  of  these  plants  as 
the  sun  regulates  the  strength  and  vigor  of 
flowers  and  trees. 


SECTION  II 

SOME  LISTS  OF  BOOKS  WITH 
COMMENT 

And  so  we  come  from  these  abstract  con- 
siderations of  the  nature  of  culture  to  the 
practical  problem  of  how  we  can  hope  to  find 
our  way  through  the  millions  of  books  to  the 
books  which  are  worth  while;  how  we  can 
find  the  key  which  will  open  the  magic  door 
to  the  treasury  of  the  world's  real  knowledge 
and  beauty. 

In  the  accustomed  sense  of  the  word,  "  cul- 
ture" implies,  of  course,  the  possession  of  that 
knowledge  and  appreciation  of  the  outstand- 
ing figures  and  achievements  in  history,  sci- 
ence, literature,  drama,  music,  painting  and 
sculpture  which  is  possessed  in  common  by  all 
"cultivated"  men  of  all  races. 

Why   are   these   figures" outstanding"? 

Because  they  have  vitally  altered,  shaped 
or  influenced  the  history  of  the  world.  Or 
because  they  have  produced  works  of  such 
excellence  that  men  of  all  ages  and  races  are 
delighted  or  influenced  by  them. 


32  ON  "CULTURE"  AND  "A  LIBERAL  EDUCATION" 

We  must  certainly  gain  knowledge  of  these 
figures.  But  it  must  be  real  and  understand- 
ing knowledge.  Merely  to  learn  the  names 
of  great  writers,  poets,  dramatists,  painters, 
musicians,  sculptors  can  add  little  to  our 
enjoyment  of  life. 

Merely  to  read  great  books,  to  look  at  great 
pictures  and  statues  or  to  listen  to  great 
music  can  add  little  to  our  development  un- 
less we  truly  and  sincerely  enjoy  and  delight  in 
such  things  and  have  some  understanding 
why  they  are  entitled  to  be  considered  great. 

Mere  knowledge  about  them  constitutes 
information. 

It  is  delight  in  them  and  true  appreciation 
of  them  which  constitutes  culture. 

So  it  appears  that  we  should  have  some 
broad  and  general  comprehension  of  what  is 
known  about  the  life  of  all  men  everywhere 
in  order  to  understand  why  certain  men  or 
their  works  are  to  be  considered  great.  For, 
inevitably,  their  "greatness"  will  consist  in 
the  wideness  of  their  range,  the  universality 
of  their  appeal,  the  new  dignity  or  poignancy 
or  comprehension  which  their  work  has  added 
to  the  common  life  of  the  world. 

As  a  preliminary  to  culture  we  must  gain 
some  clear  comprehension  of  just  what  we 


ON  "CULTURE"  AND  "A  LIBERAL  EDUCATION"  33 

are  in  relation  to  the  world  in  which  we  live, 
to  the  past  which  has  produced  us,  to  our  fel- 
lows who  surround  us,  to  the  interplay  of 
ideas,  ideals,  greeds  and  passions  which  have 
always  been  reflected  in  human  society. 

Then  we  can  move  on  to  knowledge  of  the 
decoration  of  the  structure  of  society — to 
knowledge  of  all  the  lovely,  serene,  gracious 
things  which  exist  naturally  in  the  world  or 
have  been  produced  by  art,  music,  literature 
or  science  as  man's  expression  of  his  own  deep- 
est and  keenest  emotional  and  spiritual  reac- 
tions to  life. 

HISTORY 

Two  fine  books  of  the  past  few  years  which 
can  give  this  preliminary  knowledge  are  the 
much-discussed  "Outline  of  History'*  by  H. 
G.  Wells  and  "The  Story  of  Mankind"  by 
Hendrik  Willem  Van  Loon.  The  first  of  these 
is  recommended  for  adult  readers.  The  sec- 
ond for  young  readers. 

Both  of  these  books  are  excellent  and  stim- 
ulating syntheses  of  the  most  important  basic 
facts  and  ideas  underlying  history. 

It  has  only  recently  become  possible  to 
write  such  books  -  -  books  which  give  the 
reader  a  comprehensible  idea  of  the  origin  of 


34  ON  "CULTURE"  AND  "A  LIBERAL  EDUCATION" 

the  planet  and  of  the  life  upon  the  planet; 
which  give  broad  and  sweeping  pictures  of 
the  early  development  of  civilization,  of  the 
spread  of  man  over  the  earth,  of  the  rise  and 
fall  of  empires  and  of  the  forces  and  events  of 
the  past  which  have  produced  the  present  in 
which  we  now  live. 

These  books  can  afford  the  average  reader 
what  many  years  of  college  and  university 
instruction  have  all  too  often  failed  to  give 
students  up  to  this  time — a  consistent  and 
really  informative,  broad  understanding  of  the 
essential  facts  and  ideas  of  history  and  of  the 
origin  and  development  of  life  and  civilization. 

As  an  introduction  to  that  lively  interest  in 
life  which  is  essential  to  culture  these  synthe- 
ses of  essential  facts — if  ably  and  competently 
made  as  in  the  case  of  the  Wells  and  Van 
Loon  histories — are  vastly  superior  to  the 
huge  sets  of  "classics"  and  "masterpieces." 
They  are,  indeed,  superior  to  years  of  study 
at  the  typical  American  college. 

For  the  syntheses  give  a  stimulating  new 
sense  of  the  unity  of  life  and  history;  they 
place  things  in  perspective  and  give  under- 
standing of  life  and  of  the  past  as  a  whole. 
They  permit  the  reader  to  understand  his 
place  in  the  general  scheme  of  things. 


ON  "CULTURE"  AND  "A  LIBERAL  EDUCATION"  35 

Too  often  the  sets  of  "classics"  and  "mas- 
terpieces" give  only  a  sense  of  confusion  and 
loss.  There  is  no  essential  unity  to  them. 
There  is  no  coordination  of  them. 

The  "Outline  of  History"  gives  that  com- 
prehension of  the  past  which  is  analagous  to 
the  view  of  a  landscape  secured  from  an  air- 
plane. The  sets  of  "classics"  afford — at 
best — the  comprehension  of  some  period,  or 
phase  or  personality  which  is  analagous  to 
the  careful  study — on  foot  and  close  at  hand 
—of  some  of  the  largest  trees  or  the  most 
beautiful  valleys  or  largest  streams  in  the 
landscape.  One  may  well  know  some  of  the 
trees  and  valleys  and  streams  most  intimately 
without  having  any  clear  vision  or  under- 
standing of  the  country  as  a  whole.  In  man's 
past,  moreover,  there  are  so  many  millions  of 
trees,  so  many  wonderful  and  intricate  val- 
leys and  streams  that  it  is  not  possible  to 
have  detailed  knowledge  of  all  of  them. 

There  is  another  grave  objection  to  the  use 
of  sets  of  "classics"  and  "masterpieces"  as  a 
means  of  education  or  culture.  However 
alive  and  interesting  they  may  be  to  a  mind 
which  has  broad  comprehension  of  history 
and  literature  as  a  whole,  they  cannot  but 
seem  remote  and  far  removed  from  actuality 


36  ON  "CULTURE"  AND  "A  LIBERAL  EDUCATION" 

to  a  mind  which  has  no  such  comprehension. 

Between  the  real  and  vital  life  of  everyday 
—the  life  of  interest  and  excitement — and 
the  life  sensed  in  these  old  books  dealing  with 
remote  times  and  faraway  events  there  ap- 
pears a  tremendous  and  unbridgable  gulf. 

Once  a  keen  and  ardent  interest  in  all  life 
and  thought  has  been  awakened,  once  the 
unity  of  life  everywhere  and  at  all  times  has 
been  understood,  once  the  growth  of  knowl- 
edge and  civilization  has  been  seen  as  touch- 
ing our  own  lives  closely  these  classics  and 
masterpieces  are,  of  course,  beheld  in  a  dif- 
ferent light.  We  begin  to  understand  why 
they  have  survived  the  ages;  why  millions  of 
men  down  the  centuries  have  greatly  es- 
teemed and  valued  them.  But  we  cannot 
understand  this  until  we  have  some  such  pre- 
liminary broad  comprehension  as  Wells  and 
Van  Loon  can  give  us. 

Education — up  to  this  time — has,  at  best, 
attempted  to  start  with  the  past  and  come — 
very  slowly — down  to  the  present. 

Too  many  millions  of  students  have  fallen 
by  the  wayside  in  this  terrible  progress. 

Today  adult  education  is,  increasingly, 
seeking  to  give  an  initial  broad,  synthetic, 
coordinated  outline  of  all  the  past.  And 


ON  "CULTURE"  AND  "A  LIBERAL  EDUCATION"  37 

then  to  start  with  the  vivid  problems,  the 
outstanding  personalities,  the  main  currents  of 
modern  life  and  thought  and  to  work  back  to 
the  past  when  the  past  can  no  longer  appear 
remote  and  detached  from  today,  but  a  fas- 
cinating and  illuminating  record  of  other 
men's  experiences  with  the  same  world,  the 
same  problems,  the  same  ideas,  ideals  and 
aspirations;  the  same  mysteries,  passions  and 
terrors  which  confront  us. 

SCIENCE 

"The  Outline  of  History"  should  give  new 
understanding  of  the  origin  and  development 
of  life,  the  development  of  civilization,  the 
broad  outlines  of  the  division  of  races,  the 
location  of  the  chief  branches  of  the  human 
family,  the  rise  of  the  great  empires  and  pow- 
ers which  largely  control  the  world,  and  the 
interplay  of  those  forces  which  constitute  the 
more  important  aspects  of  past  history  and  of 
world  affairs  today. 

Similar  broad  understanding  is  necessary  of 
the  development  of  knowledge,  and  particu- 
larly of  that  exact,  verifiable  and  communi- 
cable knowledge  which  forms  the  science 
which  permits  human  intelligence  to  deal 
with  the  conditions  which  surround  mankind. 


38  ON  "CULTURE"  AND  "A  LIBERAL  EDUCATION" 

A  voluminous  work  entitled  "The  Outline 
of  Science"  by  J.  Arthur  Thomson  has  re- 
cently been  published.  It  is  a  comprehensive 
work  but  requires  much  time  to  read. 

A  most  admirable  shorter  work  is: 

SEDGWICK  AND  TYLER:  A  Short  History  of  Sci- 

ence 

This  is  a  splendid  book  which  is  remarkably 
informative. 

The  field  of  science  is  so  very  great  that  no 
man  can  hope  to  be  well  informed  concerning 
all  its  branches.  Culture  does  not  require 
such  knowledge.  It  requires,  only,  a  broad 
comprehension  of  the  nature  and  aims  of  sci- 
ence and  some  knowledge  concerning  the 
various  divisions  and  new  developments  of 
science. 

Most  of  the  books  to  be  recommended  in 
this  essay  have  been  selected  because  they 
give  new  sense  of  the  pleasure  to  be  derived 
from  the  disinterested  use  of  the  mind.  They 
are  books  calculated  to  whet  intellectual  ap- 
petite. It  is  assumed  throughout  that,  once 
appetite  is  awakened,  contact  will  be  sought 
with  books  more  important  and  authoritative 
but  not  so  immediately  interesting. 


ON  "CULTURE"  AND  "A  LIBERAL  EDUCATION" 


39 


Some  unusually  stimulating  books  in  vari- 
ous broad  fields  of  science  follow: 


H.  F.  OSBORN: 


ROBERT  H.  LOWIE: 
C. W.  SALEEBY: 


CARL  KELSEY: 
GEORGE  W.  CRILE: 

WILLIAM  A.  LOCY: 
W.  C.  CURTIS: 

JACQUES  LOEB: 
SIGISMUND  FREUD: 

RENE  VALLEREY-RADOT: 
E.  RAY  LANKESTER: 
CARL  SNYDER: 


WILLIAM  McDouGALL: 
THOMAS  HUXLEY: 
PERCIVAL  LOWELL: 


The   Origin   and   Evolu- 
tion of  Life 
Men   of  the   Old    Stone 

Ag?. 

Primitive  Culture 

Evolution — The  Master 
Key 

The  Cycle  of  Life  Ac- 
cording to  Modern  Sci- 
ence 

The  Physical  Basis  of 
Society 

Man — An  Adaptive  Me- 
chanism 

Biology  And  Its  Makers 

Science  and  Human  Af- 
fairs 

The  Mechanistic  Con- 
ception of  Life 

General  Introduction  to 
Psychoanalysis 

The  Life  of  Pasteur 

Extinct  Animals 

New  Conceptions  in  Sci- 
ence 

The  World  Machine 

Psychology 

Man's  Place  in  Nature 

The  Solar  System 

Mars  and  Its  Canals 


40  ON  "CULTURE"  AND  "A  LIBERAL  EDUCATION" 

SVENTE  ARRHENIUS:  Worlds  in  the  Making 

WILLIAM  OSLER:  The  Evolution  of  Mod- 

ern Medicine 

E.  G.  CONKLIN:          .  Heredity    and    Environ- 

ment 

R.  C.  PUNNETT:  Mendelism 

EDWIN  SLOSSEN:  Creative  Chemistry 

H.  H.  NEWMAN:  Readings  in  Evolution 

PHILOSOPHY 

After  knowing  the  main  facts  about  the 
past,  about  the  world  and  about  life  one  needs 
to  know  the  chief  ways  in  which  various  men 
of  various  kinds  have  looked  at  these  facts, 
what  explanation  they  have  given  of  them. 

It  is  possible  to  approach  this  great  field 
of  philosophy  by  way  of  the  remote  past  and 
through  famous — but  often  tedious — books 
which  are  somewhat  analagous  to  dark,  moss- 
grown  and  forbidding  gates. 

It  is,  also,  fortunately,  possible  to  approach 
this  field  by  way  of  the  immediate  present  and 
its  vital  concerns  through  books  which  are 
analagous  to  the  garden  gates  of  a  friend  to 
whom  we  go  for  discussion  of  personal  con- 
cerns and  questions. 

It  is  doubtful  if  any  book  can  afford  a  bet- 
ter introduction  to  the  broad  field  of  philoso- 


ON  "CULTURE"  AND  "A  LIBERAL  EDUCATION"  41 

phy  that  the  remarkable  little  volume  by  G. 
Lowes  Dickinson  entitled:  "A  Modern  Sym- 
posium." It  is  difficult  to  believe  that  any 
man  or  woman  can  read  this  inspired  book 
without  gaining  a  wider  conception  of  life 
from  its  pages. 

The  plan  of  the  book  is  this : 

At  a  great  English  country  house  one  night 
a  group  of  men  of  contrasting  types  sit  up 
until  dawn  and  talk  about  their  individual  re- 
actions to  life.  The  whole  gamut  of  modern 
reactions  to  life  is  voiced  in  the  talk  of  these 
men.  We  go  from  the  direst,  forlornest  pes- 
simism to  the  most  undiscriminating  praise 
of  life;  we  pass  from  the  most  reactionary  doc- 
trines to  the  most  radical  doctrines;  we  see 
life  through  the  eyes  of  multitudinous  clear- 
eyed  thinkers.  And  in  thus  seeing  it,  our  own 
opinions  are  clarified,  our  own  mental  horizons 
widened. 

Here  are  given  the  thoughts  of  the  world 
which  fight  today  for  ascendency  as  they 
have  fought  down  all  the  centuries. 

It  is  as  essential  to  understand  these 
thoughts  as  it  is  to  understand  past  history 
if  there  are  to  be  deep  roots  to  our  culture. 

The  great  merit  of  "A  Modern  Sympo- 
sium/' however,  is  its  interest.  It  is  a  little 


42  ON  "CULTURE"  AND  "A  LIBERAL  EDUCATION" 

book  tingling  with  life.  It  radiates  ideas  as 
an  electric  bulb  radiates  light.  It  can  give 
to  many  people  a  totally  new  conception  of 
what  pleasure  and  delight  are  to  be  found  in 
thought  and  discussion. 

The  man  or  woman  who  has  read  and  en- 
joyed Wells'  "Outline  of  History",  Sedgwick 
and  Tyler's  "History  of  Science"  and  Lowes 
Dickinson's  "A  Modern  Symposium"  will  not 
only  have  a  better  fundamental  knowledge 
than  is  possessed  by  nine  out  of  every  ten 
graduates  of  American  colleges,  but  will 
also  have  those  primary  requisites  of  culture 
— a  new  sense  of  the  immensity  and  complexity 
of  life,  a  new  sense  of  the  pleasure  to  be  derived 
from  the  intense,  disinterested  use  of  the  mind. 

As  an  introduction  to  philosophy  "A  Mod- 
ern Symposium"  has  been  suggested  because 
it  is  a  book  of  rare  charm  and  because  experi- 
ence has  shown  that  it  brings  remarkable 
stimulation  and  interest  to  many  types  of 
mind.  There  are  numerous  other  books 
which  deal  interestingly  with  the  general  rela- 
tion of  the  individual  to  the  past  and  the 
world  about  him  and  may  awaken  that  interest 
in  philosophy  which  will  send  the  reader  to 
the  world-famous  philosophers  whose  thoughts 
have  greatly  influenced  the  world. 


ON  "CULTURE"  AND  "A  LIBERAL  EDUCATION"  43 

The  following  books  are  suggested  because 
they  have  charm  and  hold  the  attention: 

WILL  DURANT:  Philosophy  and  the   So- 

cial Problem 

GEORGE  SANTA YANA:  Winds  of  Doctrine 

SIGURD  IBSEN:  Human  Quintessence 

F.  S.  MARVIN:  The  Living  Past 

The  Century  of  Hope 

BERTRAND  RUSSELL:  Problems  of  Philosophy 

The  Faith  of  a  Free  Man 

HENRI  BERGSON:  Creative  Evolution 

JAMES  HARVEY  ROBINSON:      The  Mind  in  The  Mak- 
ing 

PLATO:  Symposium 

JOHN  DEWEY:  Reconstruction    in    Phil- 

osophy 

THE  GATES  GROW  NUMEROUS 

These  books  give  breadth  of  view. 

They  will  very  fully  indicate  how  tremen- 
dously wide  is  the  range  of  human  interests. 

After  emerging  from  their  pages  there  are 
infinite  directions  in  which,  according  to  tem- 
perament, one  may  proceed. 

In  many  instances  these  books  will  have 
stimulated  curiosity  or  interest  concerning 
matters  discussed  in  their  pages.  It  is  always 
wise  to  follow  where  real  interest  leads. 


44  ON  "CULTURE"  AND  "A  LIBERAL  EDUCATION" 

If  one  has  already  a  love  of  reading,  has 
felt  no  sense  of  strain  in  reading  the  Wells 
and  Dickinson  volumes  and  seeks  to  build 
even  broader  backgrounds  before  dealing 
with  purely  cultural  subjects,  it  may  be  ad- 
visable to  gain  the  kind  of  understanding  of 
human  relations  that  is  given  in  such  books 
as  are  listed  in  the  following  pages  under  the 
heading  "  Political  Speculation."  Logically 
these  should  probably  follow.  But  culture  is 
far  from  being  a  logical  thing.  And  the  great- 
est purpose  of  this  book  is  to  introduce  its 
readers  to  volumes  which  stir  and  stimulate 
and  awaken  rather  than  merely  instruct. 

If  one  has  not  a  real  love  of  reading  (see 
footnote)  one  should  certainly  seek  to  develop 
it.  It  is  entirely  a  matter  of  temperament. 

A  real  love  of  reading  is  essential  to  any  continuous  intellectual 
development.  Yet  there  are  many  people,  greatly  desirous  of  self- 
improvement,  who  find  reading  a  task  and  a  duty  rather  than  a 
pleasure. 

The  love  of  reading  can  be  acquired  by  almost  anyone.  It  is  es- 
sential only  that  the  proper  book  at  the  proper  time  develop  it.  It 
is  advisable  that  one  seek  at  any  cost  to  gain  a  love  of  books  and 
reading  before  starting  on  any  course  of  reading  for  any  purpose. 

Below  is  given  a  list  of  books  which  have  delighted  many  readers 
of  many  kinds.  They  do  not  belong  in  the  category  of  great  litera- 
ture, perhaps,  and  they  have  little  relation  to  any  high  type  of  "cul- 
ture" but  they  have  that  quality  of  charm  which  catches  and  holds 
attention  and  interest.  They  are  books  for  amusement  and  relaxa- 
tion. They  are  suggested  here  simply  because  they  may  create  a 
love  of  reading  in  some  who  lack  it.  They  are  particularly  advised 


ON  "CULTURE"  AND  "A  LIBERAL  EDUCATION" 


45 


The  books  which  are  suggested  in  the  foot- 
note or  those  which  appear  most  appealing 
in  the  sections  entitled  " Science/'  "Imagina- 
tive Literature"  and  "Travel"  might  be  ex- 
amined and  tried  with  such  a  purpose  in  mind. 
If  one  is  tremendously  interested  in  one's 
personal  problems  and  one's  personal  rela- 
tions to  the  general  scheme  of  life  it  might 


for  young  people, 
for  boys: 


Books  marked  with  *  are  especially  recommended 


MARK  TWAIN: 
WALTER  SCOTT: 
R.  D.  BLACKMORE: 
RICHARD  HARDING  DAVIS: 

W.  J.  LOCKE: 


CHARLES  KINGSLEY: 
JULES  VERNE: 


C.  HANFORD  HENDERSON: 
HENRY  C.  ROWLAND: 
JEFFREY  FARNOL: 
EDWIN  LESTER  ARNOLD: 
EDWARD  LUCAS  WHITE: 
R.  L.  STEVENSON: 


A.  CONAN  DOYLE: 


RIDER  HAGGARD: 

HUGH  WALPOLE: 
BRAM  STOKER: 
GEORGE  DUMAURIER: 
LEW  WALLACE: 
A.  NEIL  LYONS: 

J.  FENIMORE  COOPER 
CHARLES  READE: 


"Huckleberry  Finn 

Ivanhoe 
"Lorna  Doone 
"Soldiers  of  Fortune 
"Captain  Macklin 

Derelicts 

The  Beloved  Vagabond 

Septimus 

The  Morals  of  Marcus 

Hypatia 

"Around  the  World  In  Eighty  Days 
X  "Twenty  Thousand  Leagues  Under  the 
Sea 

John  Percyfield 

Germaine 

X  The  Broad  Highway 
"Phra  The  Phoenician 
"El  Supremo 
v     The  Wrong  Box 
"The  Black  Arrow 
"Treasure  Island 
"The  White  Company 
"Sherlock  Holmes 
"The  Sign  of  the  Four 
"King  Solomon's  Mines 
>      She  . 

Fortitude 

Dracula 

Peter  Ibbetson 
"Ben  Hur 

Arthurs 

Sixpenny  Pieces 
"The  Last  of  the  Mohicans 

The  Cloister  and  the  Hearth 


46  ON  "CULTURE"  AND  "A  LIBERAL  EDUCATION" 

bring  unexpected  interest  or  satisfaction   to 
read  such  books  as: 

HENRY  DAVID  THOREAU:        Walden 

RICHARD  JEFFERIES:  The  Story  of  My  Heart 

GEORGE  GISSING:  The    Private    Papers   of 

Henry  Ryecroft 

H.  G.  WELLS:  First  and  Last  Things 

EDWARD  CARPENTER:  The  Drama  of  Love  and 

Death 
HENRI  FREDERIC  AMIEL:        Journal 

Perusal  of  the  sections  dealing  with  various 
kinds  of  books  may  suggest  some  books  which 
seem  peculiarly  appealing  to  one's  particular 
type  and  temperament. 

BELLES-LETTRES 

Perhaps  a  wise  way  for  the  average  person 
— fond  of  reading,  not  excessively  serious- 
minded  and  really  eager  for  contact  with  some 
of  the  outstanding  brilliant  aspects  and  per- 
sonalities of  today — would  be  to  plunge  into 
certain  stimulating  volumes  dealing  not  with 
broad  conceptions  of  life  and  history,  but  with 
ideas  and  theories  vigorously  advanced  or 
attacked  by  brilliant  men  delighting  in  the 
free  use  of  the  mind  and  imagination  as  men 
delight  in  the  free  use  of  the  muscles  and  the 
senses. 


ON  "CULTURE"  AND  "A  LIBERAL  EDUCATION"  47 

To  read  such  a  book  as  G.  K.  Chesterton's 
" Heretics/'  for  example,  will  be  to  gain  new 
understanding  of  the  pleasures  and  excite- 
ments to  be  found  in  the  realm  of  the  mind. 

In  this  book  Mr.  Chesterton  appraises  a 
number  of  his  contemporaries — some  of  the 
foremost  literary  men  of  the  period.  But 
the  merit  of  the  book  to  those  who  have  not 
always  been  booklovers  lies  in  its  keenness, 
its  spirit,  its  cleverness — the  new  knowledge 
it  gives  that  absolutely  impersonal  and  dis- 
interested concern  with  literature  and  thought 
can  awaken  as  much — and  intense — excite- 
ment as  a  poker  game  or  a  golf  match. 

Similar  pleasure  is  to  be  derived  from  the 
stimulating  book  compiled  by  Ludwig  Lew- 
isohn  entitled  "A  Modern  Book  of  Criti- 
icisms."  Here  have  been  gathered  together 
excerpts  from  the  writings  of  some  of  the 
shrewdest  and  keenest  critics  of  life  and  letters 
of  France,  Germany,  England  and  America. 
They  form  part  of  a  little  book  brimming 
over  with  vivid  and  stimulating  ideas  which 
awaken  and  invigorate  the  mind  like  a  power- 
ful tonic. 

Such  books  as  "Heretics"  and  "A  Modern 
Book  of  Criticisms"  form  part  of  that  division 
of  literature  called  "belles-lettres"  And  here, 


48  ON  "CULTURE'*  AND  "A  LIBERAL  EDUCATION" 

of  course,  the  attitude  towards  life  called  cul- 
ture is  to  be  found  at  its  keenest.  For  the 
worth-while  books  of  belles-lettres  deal  with 
literature,  with  art,  with  music, — with  all 
that  is  most  gracious  and  harmonious — in  the 
spirit  of  those  to  whom  these  things  are  the 
most  important  things  in  life.  Such  a  divi- 
sion of  literature  necessarily  implies  that  the 
problems,  the  disharmonies,  the  crudities,  the 
confusions  and  vulgarities  of  everyday  life 
have  been  left  behind,  or  seen  in  new  perspec- 
tive, and  that  the  writers  of  such  books  have 
dealt  with  those  phases  and  aspects  of  life 
which  are  either  serene,  gracious  and  well- 
rounded  or  else  vividly  keen  or  intensely  vital. 

It  is  for  this  reason  that  the  broad  field  of 
belles-lettres  affords,  possibly,  the  best  intro- 
duction to  the  world's  culture  since  the  world's 
culture  is  the  material  with  which  it  deals. 

Some  excellent  modern  books  of  belles-lettres 
which  will  open  endless  doors  into  spacious 
new  worlds  are  these: 

ARTHUR  SYMONS:  Studies  in  Seven  Arts 

Studies    in     Prose     and 

Verse 

Figures  of  Several  Cen- 
turies 
HOLBROOK  JACKSON:  The  Eighteen  Nineties 


ON  "CULTURE"  AND  "A  LIBERAL  EDUCATION"  49 

G.  K.  CHESTERTON:  The    Victorian    Age    in 

Literature 
HAVELOCK  ELLIS:  The  New  Spirit 

Affirmations 

REMY  DEGOURMONT:  The  Book  of  Masks 

DIXON  SCOTT:  Men  of  Letters 

JAMES  HUNEKER:  Egoists 

Iconoclasts 

Overtones 

H.  L.  MENCKEN:  A  Book  of  Prefaces 

STUART  P.  SHERMAN:  On    Contemporary    Lit- 

erature 
VAN  WYCK  BROOKS:  Letters  and  Leadership 

All  of  these  deal  with  brilliant  personalities 
of  recent  times  who  have  done  much  to  affect 
the  life,  the  thought,  the  literature,  art  and 
music  of  the  past  two  generations. 

Each  of  them  will  doubtless  send  the  aver- 
age man  who  reads  them  seeking  for  other 
books  by  the  same  writers  or  by  the  writers 
with  whom  the  books  deal  or  to  whom  they 
refer. 

And  so  the  "guidance  through  the  first 
confusing  wilderness  of  books,  the  pointing 
out  of  some  paths  and  directions  to  the  treas- 
ure house  of  culture' '  will  have  been  accom- 
plished. For  every  really  worth-while  book 
is  certain  to  be  inextricably  bound  up  with 
other  worth-while  books.  And,  once  vital 
interest  is  awakened,  one  finds  lines  of  thought 


50 ON  "CULTURE"  AND  "A  LIBERAL  EDUCATION " 

or  study  to  pursue  with  little  or  no  need  of 
further  guidance.  Any  one  personality,  or 
line  of  thought,  or  branch  of  knowledge  which 
stirs  something  deep  in  oneself  will  lead  one 
inevitably  to  other  similar  personalities,  lines 
of  thought  or  branches  of  knowledge. 

While  the  world's  culture  is  endlessly  intri- 
cate, it  is  also  entirely  unified.  It  is  like  a 
garden  with  myriad  gates  and  thousands  of 
winding,  criss-crossing  paths  and  roads. 
It  can  be  entered  from  almost  any  point  to 
which  real  curiosity,  real  enthusiasm,  real 
interest  leads  one.  And,  once  entered,  the 
paths  circle  and  intertwine  so  that  one  has  but 
to  follow  them  to  see  as  much  of  that  great 
garden  as  is  possible  to  one  person  in  one 
lifetime. 

It  is  necessary  to  say  in  reference  to  these 
books  which  are  recommended  that  they  open 
up  only  certain  very  brilliant  corners  of  the 
modern  world.  They  introduce  one  to  many 
vivid  and  outstanding  personalities  but  these 
personalities,  of  course,  constitute  only  a 
small  part  of  contemporary  culture  and  a 
tiny  part,  indeed,  of  all  culture. 

The  great  service  these  books  perform  is  in 
giving  the  right  atmosphere,  the  right  atti- 


ON  "CULTURE"  AND  "A  LIBERAL  EDUCATION"  51 

tude.  They  are  not  solemn,  dull,  dryasdust. 
On  the  contrary  they  are  keen,  clever,  in- 
tensely alive. 

The  man  who  gains  from  them  the  best 
that  they  have  to  give  will  be  inexorably  im- 
pelled to  trace  back  the  main  currents  of  the 
ideas  with  which  they  deal;  will  be  inexorably 
impelled  to  appraise  these  modern  prophets 
and  semi-prophets  in  the  light  of  the  classic 
figures  which  all  the  world  holds  to  be  great. 
But  he  will  go  to  these  figures  with  new  ap- 
preciation, new  understanding,  new  point  of 
view. 

In  other  words,  the  classic  system  of  edu- 
cation has  been  to  take  men  from  the  colorful 
life  of  everyday  and  to  force  them  to  become 
acquainted  with  the  great  and  austere  figures 
of  the  past.  These  figures  seemed  impossibly 
remote  from  life  and  reality.  One  learned 
about  them  by  rote  and  usually  failed  to  as- 
sociate them  with  the  vivid  concerns  of  one's 
own  life.  One  acquired  mere  information. 

The  books  suggested  here  furnish  a  new 
method  of  approach.  They  give  contact 
with  contemporary  thought  at  its  keenest. 
Any  man  or  woman  capable  of  acquiring  cul- 
ture will  not  only  recognise  the  relative  value 
and  importance  of  these  men  of  yesterday  and 


52  ON  "CULTURE"  AND  "A  LIBERAL  EDUCATION" 

today  but  will  be  drawn  back  to  the  fountain 
head  of  thought  by  a  curiosity  welling  up 
from  a  new  sense  of  the  unity  and  continuity 
and  slow  development  of  all  thought  and  art. 

THE  MIDDLE  GROUND  OF  CULTURE 

It  is  essential  that  one  have  not  only  the 
broad  background  of  fact  given  by  Wells  and 
the  scientists,  the  broad  understanding  of 
philosophies  touched  on  by  Dickinson,  and 
the  immediate  foreground  of  culture  consti- 
tuted by  knowledge  of  the  glowing,  exciting, 
stimulating  and  delightful  writers,  artists  and 
musicians  of  today. 

There  must  also  be  a  middle-ground  com- 
posed of  well-rounded  and  well-understood 
knowledge  of  the  countries  of  the  world  (with 
their  past  and  contemporary  culture  and  out- 
standing celebrities),  of  imaginative  literature, 
world-politics,  music  and  art  if  one  is  not  to 
have  unpleasant  blank  spots  in  one's  mind  in 
general  association  with  truly  educated  and 
cultivated  people. 

OUR  WORLD 

A  knowledge  of  geography  is  absolutely 
necessary.  One  need  not  study  geography  as 
children  study  it  in  school  but  there  must  be 


ON  "CULTURE"  AND  "A  LIBERAL  EDUCATION*'  53 

some  consistent  and  continuous  effort  to  fix 
the  general  map  of  the  world  in  one's  memory. 

For  it  is  on  this  world  that  we  live.  It  is 
with  the  past  of  this  world  and  with  the  peo- 
ple of  this  world  that  we  are  all  concerned. 
Its  general  form  and  outline  must  be  clear  in 
our  minds  if  we  are  to  understand  what  we 
read  about  it. 

A  most  entertaining  and  enlightening  book 
which  can  give  us  a  new  conception  and  un- 
derstanding of  geography  is: 

HUNTINGTON  AND  GUSHING:    Principles  of  Human  Ge- 
ography 

It  will  explain  many  mysteries  to  us. 

Monthly  perusal  of  The  National  Geogra- 
phic Magazine  and  of  the  magazine  entitled 
"Asia"  will  afford  very  great  pleasure  to 
every  family.  If  a  small  desk  globe  and  an 
atlas  are  used  to  locate  the  situation  of  all 
the  interesting  lands  pictured  and  described, 
a  very  excellent  knowledge  of  geography 
should  be  gained  amost  without  effort. 

TRAVEL,  EXPLORATION,  ADVENTURE 

There  is,  moreover,  tremendous  pleasure 
and  information  to  be  derived  from  books  of 
travel  and  adventure,  or  books  showing  the 


54 


ON  "CULTURE*'  AND  "A  LIBERAL  EDUCATION" 


life  and  manner  of  living  of  men  of  other  races, 
lands  and  times.  A  brief  list  of  such  books, 
which  have  been  picked  because  of  their 
strong  general  appeal,  follows: 


HERMAN  MELVILLE: 

ROBERT  M.  PEARY: 
ROALD  AMUNDSON: 
GEORGE  CATLIN: 

CAPTAIN  COOK: 
RICHARD  BURTON: 

L'ABBE  Hue: 
HARRY  FRANCK: 
JOSHUA  SLOCUM: 

HENRY  M.  STANLEY: 
LEWIS  AND  CLARKE: 
HAKLUYT'S  VOYAGES 

FRIDTJOF  NANSEN; 


Typee 

Omoo 

The  North  Pole 

The  South  Pole 

The  North  American  In- 
dians 

Voyages 

Pilgrimage  to  El  Medi- 
nah  and  Mecca 

Travels  in  Tartary,  Tibet 
and  China 

A  Vagabond  Journey 
Around  the  World 

Sailing  Alone  Around  the 
World 

In  Darkest  Africa 

Journal 

(May  be  obtained  in 
eight  volumes  in  the 

"Everyman's  Library") 

Across  Greenland 


These  books  will  bring  delight  and  enjoy- 
ment to  almost  anyone  of  any  age.  They 
will  give  a  sense  of  the  wonder  of  the  world 
which  will  make  the  thought  of  geography 
take  on  a  new  form  in  the  mind. 


ON  " CULTURE"  AND  "A  LIBERAL  EDUCATION"  55 

ARCHAEOLOGY 

There  are  other  temperaments  which  may 
find  stimulation,  rather,  in  books  which 
awaken  a  vivid  new  interest  in  the  past  by 
giving  accounts  of  archaeological  excavations. 
Some  admirable  books  of  this  sort  which  can 
open  wide  vistas  are: 

HENRY  SCHLIEMANN:  Ilios 

JAMES  BAIKIE:  Sea  Kings  of  Crete 

JOHN  L.  STEPHENS:  Incidents    of   Travel    in 

Yucatan,  etc. 

W.  M.  FLINDERS  PETRIE:        Ten  Years*  Digging 

AUSTEN  HENRY  LA  YARD:         Nineveh    and     Its     Re- 
mains 

JOYCE  T.  ATHOL:  South  American  Archae- 

ology 

Central  American  Arch- 
aeology 

HIRAM  BINGHAM:  Inca  Land 

However  gained,  one  must  possess,  sooner 
or  later  a  sense  of  the  unity  of  the  world  and 
of  the  world's  peoples  with  a  corresponding 
understanding  of  the  artificiality  and  real 
significance  of  national  boundaries  if  one  is 
to  have  a  satisfactory  middleground  to  knowl- 
edge. A  great  Roman  once  declared  in  a 
sentiment  which  has  come  down  the  ages: 

/  am  a  man.  I  believe  that  nothing  which  is 
human  is  alien  to  me. 


56  ON  "CULTURE"  AND  "A  LIBERAL  EDUCATION" 

Such  an  attitude  toward  all  our  fellowmen 
is  necessary  if  we  are  to  gain  the  best  that  our 
fellowmen  are  able  to  give  us. 

IMAGINATIVE  LITERATURE 

The  imaginative  literature — poetry,  drama 
and  fiction — of  the  past  and  present  consti- 
tutes one  of  the  most  important  and  prepond- 
erant aspects  of  world  culture. 

For  the  writers  of  such  literature  have 
best  depicted  and  explained  life  and  human- 
ity, given  new  meaning  and  color  to  existence. 
The  great  imaginative  authors  are  the  glory 
of  the  countries  and  ages  which  have  produced 
them.  The  field  of  the  world's  imaginative 
literature  is  one  of  the  world's  supreme  pos- 
sessions. Few  things  have  given  more  hap- 
piness and  pleasure  to  mankind. 

A  lifetime  of  reading  is,  of  course,  necessary 
to  acquire  any  full  knowledge  of  the  great 
imaginative  literature  of  all  the  countries  of 
the  world.  But  most  Americans  read  pro- 
digiously in  any  case  and  the  time  generally 
spent  upon  the  trashy  fiction  so  prevalent 
today  can  be  so  much  more  profitably  ex- 
pended upon  the  novels  and  plays  which  have 
lasting  merit. 


ON  "CULTURE"  AND  "A  LIBERAL  EDUCATION "  57 

One  loses  nothing  in  deciding  to  read  famous 
books  which  have  gained  world-wide  appreci- 
ation or  stood  the  test  of  generations,  or  cen- 
turies, rather  than  the  latest  magazine  stories 
of  "best-sellers"  which  will  be  forgot  in  a 
week  or  a  month  or  a  year.  The  books  of 
real  merit  are  indubitably  more  enjoyable, 
more  delightful,  more  exciting.  For  no  other 
reasons  are  they  esteemed  by  critics  and  peo- 
ple of  culture. 

A  list  of  novels  and  plays  which  have 
brought  great  pleasure  to  many  people  of 
many  kinds  is  appended.  It  makes  no  pre- 
tense at  being  anything  save  a  list  of  excellent 
books  from  many  lands  which  will  give  pleas- 
ure, and  serve  as  an  introduction  to  the  liter- 
ature of  other  peoples  and  times.  It  is  not 
a  learned  list  to  give  information  but  a  list 
to  give  enjoyment.  It  does  not  deal  with  the 
most  famous  American  and  English  writers  of 
recent  generations  nor  with  the  most  widely 
discussed  writers  of  the  present  moment.  Haw- 
thorne, Poe,  Dickens,  Thackeray  and  similar 
writers  are  too  well  known  to  need  mention 
here.  The  younger  writers  of  today  are  well 
advertised  and  few  of  them  are  yet  defin- 
itely placed. 


58 


ON  "CULTURE"  AND  "A  LIBERAL  EDUCATION" 


COMPARATIVELY  RECENT  BOOKS 

(Books  marked  *  are  plays) 


AMERICA: 


HENRY  JAMES: 
W.  DEAN  HOWELLS: 
MARK  TWAIN: 
FRANK  NORRIS: 
STEPHEN  CRANE: 

O.  HENRY: 

OWEN  WISTER: 

MARY  WILKENS  FREEMAN: 

JACK  LONDON: 

BOOTH  TARKINGTON: 

DAVID  GRAHAM  PHILLIPS: 
GERTRUDE  ATHERTON: 
EDITH  WHARTON: 
ROBERT  HERRICK: 
MARGARET  DELAND: 

MARY  AUSTIN: 
UPTON  SINCLAIR: 

GEORGE  ADE: 
WM.  VAUGHAN  MOODY: 
THEODORE  DREISER: 
ERNEST  POOLE: 
EUGENE  WALTER: 
JOSEPH  HERGESHEIMER: 
EUGENE  O'NEILL: 
SHERWOOD  ANDERSON: 


Daisy  Miller 

The  Rise  of  Silas  Lapham 

The  Mysterious  Stranger 

The  Pit  L 

The  Red  Badge  of  Cour- 
age 

Cabbages  and  Kings 

The  Virginian 

A  New  England  Nun 

The  Sea  Wolf 

The  Magnificent  Amber- 
sons 

The  Plum  Tree 

The  Conqueror 

The  House  of  Mirth 

Together 

The  Awakening  of  He- 
lena Ritchie 

A  Woman  of  Genius 

The  Journal  of  Arthur 
Stirling 

In  Babel 

The  Great  Divide* 

Sister  Carrie 

The  Harbor 

The  Easiest  Way* 

Java  Head 

Beyond  the  Horizon* 

Winesberg,  Ohio 


ON  "CULTURE"  AND  "A  LIBERAL  EDUCATION" 


59 


SINCLAIR  LEWIS: 
WILLA  GATHER: 


Babbitt 
My  Antonio 


ENGLAND: 


SAMUEL  BUTLER: 
GEORGE  MEREDITH: 

THOMAS  HARDY: 
GEORGE  GISSING: 
ROBERT  Louis  STEVENSON: 
GEORGE  MOORE: 

OSCAR  WILDE: 

RUDYARD  KIPLING: 
GEORGE  BERNARD  SHAW: 
H.  G.  WELLS: 
W.  H.  HUDSON  : 
ARTHUR  WING  PINERO: 

JAMES  BARRIE: 
JOSEPH  CONRAD: 
JOHN  GALSWORTHY: 
JOHN  MASEFIELD: 
G.  K.  CHESTERTON: 

HILAIRE  BELLOC: 
ARNOLD  BENNETT: 
HENRY  ARTHUR  JONES: 


The  Way  of  All  Flesh 

The    Ordeal  of  Richard 
Feverel 

Tess  of  the  D'Urbervilles 

The  New  Grub  Street 

The  Wreckers 

Confessions  of  a  Young 
Man 

The    Picture    of  Dorian 
Grey 

Kim 

Man  and  Superman* 

Tono-Bungay 

Green  Mansions 

The  Second  Mrs.  Tan- 
queray* 

Sentimental  Tommy 

Lord  Jim 

The  Country  House 

The  Tragedy  of  Nan* 

The   Napoleon    of  Net- 
ting Hill 

Emmanuel  Burden 

Buried  .Alive 

Michael    and    His    Lost 
Angel* 


FRANCE: 


GEORGE  SAND: 
GUSTAVE  FLAUBERT: 


The  Devil's  Pool 
Madame  Bovary 


60  ON  "CULTURE"  AND  "A  LIBERAL  EDUCATION" 

HONORE  DEBALZAC:  Old  Goriot 

VICTOR  HUGO:  Les  Miserables  L 

ALPHONSE  DAUDET:  Sapho 

EMILE  ZOLA:  The     Crime     of     Abbe 

Mouret 

GUY  DEMAUPASSANT:  One  Life 

PIERRE  LOTI:  An  Iceland  Fisherman 

ANATOLE  FRANCE:  The  Crime  of  Sylvestre 

Bonnard 

EDMOND  ROSTAND:  Cyrano  deBergerac* 

EUGENE  BRIEUX:  Damaged  Goods* 

ROMAIN  ROLLAND:  Jean-Christophe 

HENRI  BARBUSSE:  Under  Fire 

HENRI  BORDEAUX:  The  Fear  of  Life 

OCTAVE  MIRBEAU:  Business  Is  Business* 

REMY  DE  GOURMONT:  A  Night  in  The  Luxem- 

bourg 

GERMANY   AND   AUSTRIA: 

THEODOR  STORM:  Immensee 

HERMAN  SUDERMANN:  Dame  Care 

GERHART  HAUPTMANN:  The  Weavers 

FRIEDRICH  HEBBEL:  Gyges  and  His  Ring 

HERMAN  BAHR:  The  Concert 

LUDWIG  FULDA:  The  Talisman 

ARTHUR  SCHNITZLER:  The  Lonely  Way 

FRANZ  WEDEKIND:  Spring's  Awakening* 

GUSTAVE  FRENSSEN:  J^rn  Uhl 

J.  WASSERMANN:  The  Great  Illusion 
HUGO  VONHOFFMANNSTHAL:    Elektra 

RUSSIA: 

IVAN  TURQUENIEV:  A  Sportsman's  Sketches 

FEDOR  DOSTOIEVSKY:  Crime  and  Punishment 


ON  "CULTURE"  AND  "A  LIBERAL  EDUCATION"  61 

NIKOLAI  GOGOL:  Dead  Souls 

LEO  TOLSTOY:  Anna  Karenina 

MAXIM  GORKI:  Foma  Gordeyev 

ANTON  TCHEKOFF:  Uncle  Vanya 

LEONID  ANDREYEV:  The  Seven  Who  Were 

Hanged 

ITALY: 

GABRIELLE  D'ANNUNZIO:  The  Flame  of  Life 

ANTONIO  FOGAZARRO:  The  Saint 

ROBERTO  BRACCO:  The  Hidden  Spring* 

MATHILDE  SERAO:  The  Land  of  Cockayne 

SPAIN: 

A.  PALACCIO  VALDES:  The  Joy  of  Captain  Ribot 

B.  PEREZ  GALDOS:  Dona  Perfecta 
JOSE  ECHEGARY:                       Mariana 

JACINTO  BENAVENTE:  The  Evil  Doers  of  Good* 

HOLLAND: 

Louis  COUPERUS:  Small  Souls 

I.  QUERIDO:  Toil  of  Men 

FREDERIK  VAN  EEDEN:  The  Quest 

BELGIUM: 

MAURICE  MAETERLINCK:  The  Blue  Bird 

GEORGES  EEKHOUD:  The  New  Carthage 

EMILE  VERHAEREN:  The  Dawn 

GEORGES  RODENBACH:  Bruges  The  Dead 

PIERRE  HAMP:  People 

THE    SCANDINAVIAN    COUNTRIES: 

HENRIK  IBSEN:  The  Doll's  House* 

AUGUST  STRINDBERG:  Swan  white 


62  ON  "CULTURE"  AND  "A  LIBERAL  EDUCATION'* 

BJORNSTJERNE  BJORNSON:  The  Fisher  Maiden 

SELMA  LAGERLOF:  The  Emperor  of  Portu- 

gallia 

MARTIN  ANDERSON  NEXO:  Pelle  The  Conqueror 

CARL  EWALD:  Tie  Old  Room 

KNUT  HAMSUM:  Growth  of  the  Soil 

JOHAN  BOJER:  The  Face  of  the  World 

These  books  are  typical  of  the  countries 
from  which  they  come.  They  cast  new  light 
upon  the  real  life  of  these  countries.  They 
are  among  the  books  of  recent  years  which 
most  cultured  people  throughout  the  world 
have  read  or  about  which,  at  least,  they  know. 

There  are  many  books  of  the  past  which 
can  give  very  great  pleasure.  The  list  which 
follows  has  been  carefully  selected  in  order  to 
present  merely  books  which  are  very  human 
and  interesting  and  can  give  a  new  and  fav- 
orable idea  of  some  of  the  literature  of  the 
past. 

It  does  not  deal  with  such  great  world  clas- 
sics as  Homer,  Aeschylus,  Horace  and  Virgil 
nor  with  such  national  classics  as  Shakes- 
peare, Chaucer,  Milton,  Spenser;  Dante,  Pe- 
trarch; Corneille,  Racine,  Moliere;  Goethe, 
Schiller  and  similar  figures.  An  ultimate 
knowledge  of  and  acquaintance  with  the 
works  of  these  masters  is,  of  course,  essential 


ON  "CULTURE"  AND  "A  LIBERAL  EDUCATION"  63 

to  any  well-rounded  culture.  But,  in  order 
to  gain  true  appreciation  of  such  writers,  it 
is  necessary  that  one  approach  them  with 
intense  curiosity  and  some  comprehension. 
Many  passably  well  educated  men  and  women 
throughout  the  world  have  a  high  degree  of 
culture  and  yet  possess  but  the  haziest  ac- 
quaintanceship with  the  true  classics.  The 
following  list  will  serve  to  show  how  much 
superior  some  of  the  great  literature  of  the 
past  is  to  the  current  popular  fiction.  De- 
light in  these  books — and  they  can  give  de- 
light— should,  at  least,  introduce  the  reader 
into  the  ante-room  of  the  world's  greatest 
literature.  If  he  desires  to  enter"  further  he 
will  know  how  to  proceed  for  himself  and  will 
be  able  to  proceed  with  less  trepidation. 

A  FEW  ANCIENT  BOOKS  WHICH  ARE 
DELIGHTFUL  TO  READ: 

LONGUS:  Daphnis  and  Chloe  (^Published  in  the 

TATIUS:  Clitophe  and  Leu-J  Bohn  Library  as 
cippe  T  "Ancient  Greek 

HELIODORUS:  The  Ethiopics          [Romances" 

APULEIUS:  The  Golden  Ass 

PETRONIUS:  Trimalchio's  Dinner 

LUCIAN:  Dialogues  of  the  Dead. 


64  ON  "CULTURE"  AND  "A  LIBERAL  EDUCATION" 

A  FEW  FAMOUS  BOOKS  WHICH  ARE 
EXCITING  AND  INTERESTING: 

ENGLAND: 

FIELDING:  Tom  Jones 

SMOLLETT:  Roderick  Random 

DEFOE:  Moll  Flanders 

BORROW:  Lavengro 

FRANCE: 

LESAGE:  Gil  Bias 

VOLTAIRE:  Candide 

DUMAS:  The  Three  Musketeers 

L'ABBE  PREVOST:  Manon  Lescaut 

SPAIN: 
CERVANTES:  Don  Quixote 

Any  one  of  these  books  can  be  read  with 
more  complete  assurance  of  finding  real  pleas- 
ure than  any  of  the  much-advertised  recent 
books  of  fiction.  They  are  books  known  to 
practically  all  cultivated  men  of  all  races. 
Characters  or  phrases  from  many  of  these 
books  have  entered  into  general  conversation 
all  over  the  world.  Not  to  know  these  books 
is  to  deprive  yourself  of  pleasure.  They  do 
not  constitute  the  world's  greatest  literature 
but  they  afford  a  most  agreeable  introduction 
to  it. 


ON  "CULTURE"  AND  "A  LIBERAL  EDUCATION"  65 

The  modern  literature  of  the  Oriental  peo- 
ples and  of  the  South  American  Countries  is 
not  yet  a  part  of  general  culture  and  many  of 
the  most  highly  cultivated  people  have  little 
knowledge  concerning  it.  One  must  not  for- 
get these  parts  of  the  world,  however.  To 
gain  a  general  outline  of  some  of  these  lands 
one  may  use  the  books  which  are  generally 
known  and  do  form  part  of  the  mental  equip- 
ment of  the  average  well-read  person: 

SOUTH    AMERICA: 

GEORGE  ISAACS:  Maria 

HARRY  FRANCK:  Vagabonding    Down    The 

Andes 
Working      North       From 

Patagonia 
W.  H.  PRESCOTT:  The  Conquest  of  Mexico 

The  Conquest  of  Peru 
JAMES  BRYCE:  South  America 

JAPAN: 
LAFCADIO  HEARN:  Japan-An  Interpretation 

CHINA: 
HERBERT  GILES:  The  Civilization  of  China 

INDIA: 

THE  OXFORD  HISTORY  OF  INDIA 
RABINDRANATH  TAGORE:     Chitra 

ARABIA: 

EDWARD  WILLIAM  LANE:     Arabian   Night's   Enter- 
tainment 


66  ON  "CULTURE"  AND  "A  LIBERAL  EDUCATION" 

POETRY 

The  poetry  which  must  be  known  and  loved 
by  a  truly  cultivated  person  covers  a  very 
wide  field.  The  one  essential  preconception 
to  blast  away  before  approaching  the  subject 
of  poetry  is  that  true  poetry  need  be  either 
obscure,  difficult  or  must  deal  with  impossibly 
remote  subject  matter.  On  the  contrary,  the 
poetry  which  survives  is  the  poetry  which 
gives  pleasure  to  the  greatest  number  of  men — 
poetry  which  is  easily  comprehensible  and 
deals  with  subject  matter  of  interest  to  all 
truly  alive  men  and  women. 

In  the  case  both  of  music  and  poetry  one 
must  develop  finer  appreciation  by  contact 
and  experience.  One  finds  an  introduction  to 
the  worlds  of  poetry  and  music  through  some 
minor  work.  As  one  progresses  the  appreci- 
ation becomes  keener  and  the  work  first 
greatly  liked  may  be  seen  in  a  new  and  less 
favorable  light.  Nevertheless  it  will  have 
served  a  great  purpose. 

The  poetry  in  the  following  books  should 
certainly  give  pleasure  to  almost  any  type  of 
person  capable  of  that  deep  feeling  which  is 
essential  to  the  love  of  poetry.  If  these 
books  give  the  pleasure  they  are  capable  of 


ON  "CULTURE"  AND  "A  LIBERAL  EDUCATION" 


67 


giving  they  will  create  such  a  love  for  poetry 
as  will  send  you  to  other  poets. 


F.  T.  PALGRAVE: 
ERNEST  DOWSON: 
WILLIAM  ERNEST  HENLEY: 
ARTHUR  SYMONS: 
EDWARD  FITZGERALD: 

ALGERNON  SWINBURNE: 
JOHN  MASEFIELD: 

THE   OXFORD   BOOK   OF 

ENGLISH  VERSE 
SIEGFRIED  SASSOON: 
EDGAR  LEE  MASTERS: 

EUGENE  LEE  HAMILTON: 

RUDYARD  KIPLING: 
ARTHUR  WALEY  (translator) 

OSCAR  WILDE: 


The  Golden  Treasury 

Poems 

Poems 

Poems 

The  Rubaiyat  of  Omar 

Khayyam 

Songs  Before  Sunrise 
The  Widow  in  the  Bye 

Street 


The  Old  Huntsman 

The  Spoon  River  An- 
thology 

Sonnets  of  the  Wingless 
Hours 

Collected  Verse 

A  Hundred  and  Seventy 
Chinese  Poems 

The  Ballad  of  Reading 
Gaol 


This  list  covers  a  very  great  range.  Some 
of  these  books  contain  poems  which  must 
perforce  appeal  to  any  man  of  any  tempera- 
ment. They  are  suggested  in  order  to  create 
a  love  for  poetry. 

Once  created,  the  names  of  the  great  poets 
of  the  world  will  become  familiar  to  anyone 


68  ON  "CULTURE"  AND  "A  LIBERAL  EDUCATION" 

who  reads  widely.  It  is  always  to  be  remem- 
bered that  their  work  exists  primarily  to  in- 
spire or  to  give  pleasure. 

Printed  in  grim  looking  volumes,  however, 
the  work  of  the  finest  poets  often  appears  for- 
midable, and  remote  both  from  beauty  and 
life.  If  it  has  endured  it  has  beauty  or  inter- 
est of  some  kind.  As  our  sensibilities  and  un- 
derstanding develop  we  grow  better  equipped 
to  appreciate  this  beauty  or  interest.  Do  not 
make  painful  efforts  to  appreciate  the  work 
of  men  who  wrote  merely  to  delight  you. 
Learn  to  love  poetry  from  such  books  as  are 
recommended  above.  Then  go  to  Shelley  and 
Keats,  to  Gray  and  Wordsworth,  to  Brown- 
ing— even  to  Milton  and  Spenser — determined 
to  discover  whether  similar — or  greater — 
pleasure  cannot  be  found  from  their  pages. 

Possibly  you  will  end  by  studying  Latin  in 
order  to  appreciate  and  enjoy  the  beauties  of 
Horace ! 

But  remember  always  that  poetry  exists  to 
please  you.  It  does  not  exist  as  something 
to  be  reverently  and  fearfully  admired  and 
respected. 


ON  "CULTURE"  AND  "A  LIBERAL  EDUCATION"  69 

WORLD     POLITICS,      "  RECONSTRUC- 
TION" AND  POLITICAL 
SPECULATION 

Certain  types  of  mind  may  be  prompted 
to  go  immediately  from  the  pages  of  "The 
Outline  of  History"  to  books  which  deal  suc- 
cinctly and  informatively  with  the  current 
problems  which  are  so  much  discussed  in 
newspapers  and  magazines. 

Basically,  all  these  problems  are  bound  up 
with  all  the  important  phases  of  man's  life. 
It  is  essential  that  one  have  information  about 
them  and  opinions  concerning  them. 

Little  guidance  is  needed  here  but  certain  books 
may  be  found  illuminating  and  stimulating: 

HERBERT  ADAMS  GIBBONS:     World  Politics 

This  book  will  show  the  broad  outlines  of 
the  recent  and  present  relations  of  the  great 
powers. 

G.  T.  W.  PATRICK:  The  Psychology  of  Re- 

construction 

BERTRAND  RUSSELL:  Principles  of  Social  Re- 

construction 

These  are  two  very  wide-visioned  books 
which  must  almost  inevitably  stimulate  and 
broaden  the  mind  of  any  reader. 


70  ON  "CULTURE"  AND  "A  LIBERAL  EDUCATION" 

The  matter  of  the  reconstruction  of  the 
world  according  to  some  great  plan  touches 
all  thoughtful  people  of  today  so  closely  that 
books  like  these,  which  deal  with  it  in  a  man- 
ner to  indicate  the  responsibility  of  every 
individual,  are  especially  fitted  to  stir  and 
quicken  imagination  and  thought. 

The  political  and  economic  organization  of 
nations — and  of  the  world — is  a  matter  with 
which  all  modern  peoples  are  greatly  con- 
cerned since  the  Great  War  and  the  Russian 
Revolution.  The  books  in  this  field  are,  in- 
deed, a  wilderness.  The  following  are  recom- 
mended either  because  of  their  fame  or  be- 
cause of  their  detached  viewpoint: 

R.  H.  TAWNEY:  The  Acquisitive  Society 

THOROLD  ROGERS:  The  Economic  Interpre- 

tation of  History 

WALTER  LIPPMANN:  Drift  and  Mastery 

JAMES  BRYCE:  Modern  Democracies 

BERTRAND  RUSSELL:  Proposed  Roads  to  Free- 

dom 

WALDO  BROWN  (editor):          Man  or  the  State 
W.  G.  SUMNER:  Folkways 

J.  J.  ROUSSEAU:  The  Social  Contract 

FRANCIS  NEILSON:  The  Old  Freedom 

EDWARD  P.  CHEYNEY:  Industrial      and      Social 

History  of  England 

JOHN  REED:  Ten  Days  Which  Shook 

the  World 


ON  "CULTURE"  AND  "A  LIBERAL  EDUCATION"  71 

SEYMOUR  DEMING:  A  Message  To  The  Mid- 

dle Class 

G.  H.  D.  COLE:  Social  Theory 

E.  A.  Ross:  Principles  of  Sociology 

A.  LAWRENCE  LOWELL:  Essays  on  Government 

SIDNEY  Low:  The  Governance  of  Eng- 

land 

M.  I.  OSTROGORSKI:  Democracy  And  The  Or- 

ganization of  Political 
Parties 

S.  AND  B.  WEBB:  A  Constitution  for  The 

Socialist  Common- 
wealth of  Great  Bri- 
tain 

JOHN  RUSKIN:  Unto  This  Last 

JAMES  BRYCE:  The  American  Common- 

wealth 

The  imagination  of  young  readers  has  often 
been  caught  by  the  famous  books  dealing 
with  ideal  commonwealths — Utopias.  The 
following  list  is  suggested  as  affording  likeli- 
hood of  giving  both  pleasure  and  profit: 

PLATO:  Republic 

SIR  THOMAS  MORE:  Utopia 

CAMPANELLA:  The  City  of  the  Sun 

SAMUEL  BUTLER:  Erewhon 

WILLIAM  MORRIS  :  News  From  Nowhere 

EDWARD  BELLAMY:  Looking  Backward 

W.  H.  HUDSON:  A  Crystal  Age 

H.  G.  WELLS:  A  Modern  Utopia 


72  ON  "CULTURE"  AND  "A  LIBERAL  EDUCATION" 

All  the  main  currents  of  world  politics  and 
of  the  important  immediate  social  and  politi- 
cal problems  confronting  the  world  are  dealt 
with  in  the  better  type  magazines.  Knowl- 
edge of  the  developments  of  the  contempor- 
ary culture  of  each  country  and  the  rise  of 
celebrities  in  the  various  fields  can  scarcely 
be  secured  save  from  periodicals.  The  popu- 
lar American  magazines  give  some  material 
along  these  general  lines  but  it  is  sensation- 
ally featured  and  is  unnecessarily  sugar- 
coated  with  scatter-brained  fiction. 

The  Yale  Review  and  The  Atlantic  Monthly 
rather  successfully  deal  with  important 
events  and  outstanding  personalities. 

There  is  an  admirable  weekly  magazine 
published  in  America  which — to  a  degree  rare 
in  the  American  magazines — assumes  inform- 
ation and  intelligence  on  the  part  of  its  read- 
ers. This  magazine  prints  nothing  written 
in  America  but  gives  the  most  important  ar- 
ticles on  a  wide  range  of  subjects  which  appear 
in  the  best  papers  of  the  whole  world  outside 
America.  The  paper  is  ably  edited.  It  is 
entitled:  The  Living  Age.  Weekly  perusal 
of  it  will  give  a  wide  view  of  the  world  and 
much  highly  interesting  cultural  mater- 
ial. 


ON  "CULTURE"  AND  "A  LIBERAL  EDUCATION"  73 

The  Nation  is  a  weekly  magazine  which 
represents  some  of  the  best  aspects  of  Ameri- 
can culture  and  brings  a  wide  range  of  valu- 
able material  to  its  readers. 

Both  of  these  magazines  are  almost  essen- 
tial to  any  American  with  real  curiosity  con- 
cerning the  life  of  the  world  about  him.  In 
their  brief  compass  they  give  information  and 
understanding  not  to  be  gained  so  easily — if 
at  all — from  any  other  sources. 

MUSIC 

The  sincere  enjoyment  of  good  music  and 
some  knowledge  of  the  best  music  are  essen- 
tial parts  of  culture.  There  are  few  people 
who  lack  the  capacity  for  enjoyment  of  good 
music  if  it  is  once  properly  brought  before 
them. 

In  this  day  of  ubiquitous  phonographs  there 
is  little  excuse  for  failure  to  attempt  to  learn 
the  secret  of  the  universal  appeal  of  that 
music  which  is  only  considered  fine  and  great 
because  it  has  given  so  much  pleasure  to  so 
many  people  of  all  ages,  races,  types  and 
kinds. 

So-called  popular  music  delights  at  first 
but  grows  wearisome  very  quickly. 


74  ON  "CULTURE"  AND  "A  LIBERAL  EDUCATION" 

Good  music  may  not  make  such  an  immedi- 
ate favorable  impression  but  is  more  greatly 
enjoyed  the  more  it  is  heard  and  never  grows 
tiresome  or  tedious. 

A  splendid  way  to  learn  to  love  good  music 
is  simply  to  keep  playing  records  that  are 
worth  while  over  and  over  until  the  music 
has  become  familiar.  Amost  imperceptibly 
one  will  discover  that  a  new  world  of  enjoy- 
ment has  been  opened  up  and  the  music, 
previously  loved,  will  appear  very  tawdry  and 
tiresome. 

It  is  not  without  reason  that  what  is  called 
good  music  lasts  for  years,  for  generations  and 
for  centuries,  while  the  popular  music  which 
seems  so  delightful  for  a  week  or  a  month 
becomes  so  tedious  and  tiresome  after  a  brief 
time. 

Some  people  have  a  natural  love  for  good 
music.  Most  Americans — probably  because 
of  the  great  prevalence  of  popular  music — 
find  it  necessary  to  acquire  appreciation  and 
love  for  it. 

How  can  such  appreciation  and  love  be 
acquired  ? 

Certainly  not  by  mere  forceful  effort  or  by 
pretense. 

But  there  are  other  ways. 


ON  "CULTURE"  AND  "A  LIBERAL  EDUCATION"  75 

One  may  not  be  able  to  find  enjoyment  at 
a  symphony  concert  where  Beethoven's  Fifth 
Symphony  is  heard  for  the  first  time.  One 
may  not  be  able  to  find  enjoyment  on  first 
hearing  Madame  Butterfly  or  Boheme  or  Pag- 
liacci  sung.  For  the  untrained  and  unmusical 
man  has  to  hear  such  music  many  times  before 
the  truest  and  fullest  enjoyment  is  derived  from 
it.  And,  too  often,  one  evening  of  boredom 
establishes  an  assurance  that:  "I  have  no  ear 
for  music"  and  no  future  efforts  are  made  to 
hear  it. 

There  is  some  good  music  which  is  univer- 
sally known  and — even  if  hackneyed — gives 
pleasure  to  many  people  who  think  they  do 
not  like  music.  It  gives  pleasure  simply  be- 
cause it  has  been  heard  until  it  is  known  and 
can  be  followed.  The  average  non-musical 
person,  for  example,  likes  Mendelssohn's 
"Spring  Song"  and  Schubert's  "Serenade", 
Wagner's  "Prize  Song",  Chopin's  "Funeral 
March"  and  similar  pieces  which  are  fre- 
quently played  in  places  of  public  resort. 

Equal  or  greater  pleasure  can  be  secured 
from  the  greatest  music  existing  if  one  pro- 
ceeds properly. 

Let  the  average  man  who  thinks  that  he 
does  not  like  "grand  opera,"  for  example,  buy 


76  ON  "CULTURE"  AND  "A  LIBERAL  EDUCATION" 

some  of  the  records  from  Puccini's  "La 
Boheme"  or  "Madame  Butterfly"  or  from 
Leoncavallo's  "Pagliacci"  which  are  listed 
below.  Let  him  adopt  toward  them  as  bored 
and  hostile  or  as  indifferent  an  attitude  as 
he  may  choose.  Only  let  him  play  them — 
interspersed  with  music  which  he  does  like. 
Let  him  play  them  over  at  intervals  until  he 
has  heard  each  of  them  eight  or  ten  times — 
until  the  themes  and  melodies  have  grown 
familiar  to  him.  Then — when  opportunity 
offers — let  him  go  to  hear  the  operas  from 
which  they  are  taken  and  it  is  most  improbable 
whether  that  man  will  ever  again  say  that  he 
"does  not  like  opera."  So  with  other  truly 
fine  operas,  so  with  symphony  or  chamber 
music.  If  it  is  really  meritorious  and  is 
heard  frequently  enough  it  will  be  liked. 

Some  of  the  music  listed  below  will  be  liked 
at  first  hearing.  Other  pieces  may  be  thought 
stupid  or  incomprehensible  at  first  hearing. 
The  author  of  this  book  ventures  to  believe, 
however,  that  if  the  records  are  played  in  the 
right  atmosphere  and  frequently  enough,  many 
of  them  will  be  liked  and  enjoyed  by  almost 
any  man  or  woman  of  any  temperament. 
If  they  are  so  liked  the  feeling  that  "classic 
music"  or  "grand  opera"  music  is  some  dull 


ON  "CULTURE"  AND  "A  LIBERAL  EDUCATION"  77 

and  incomprehensible  thing  will  be  removed 
and  the  first  introduction  to  the  wealth  and 
glory  of  the  world's  music  will  be  given. 
Once  given,  there  should  be  little  difficulty 
experienced  in  penetrating  as  far  into  the 
treasure  house  of  music  as  one  cares  to  pro- 
ceed. 

And  what  a  tremendous  new  pleasure  will 
have  been  added  to  life! 

ITALY 

Puccini: 
La  Boh  erne:  Che  gelida  manina 

Musetta  Waltz 

Mi  chiamano  Mimi 
Madama  Butterfly:  O  quanti  occhi  fisi 

Un  bel  di  vedremo 

Tutti  i  fior 

Leoncavallo: 
Pagliacci:  Prologo 

Coro  delle  campane 
Che  volo  d'augelli 

FRANCE: 

Charpentier: 
Louise:  Depuis  le  jour 

Debussy: 

En  bateau 


78  ON  "CULTURE"  AND  "A  LIBERAL  EDUCATION" 

RUSSIA: 

Glazounow: 

Meditation 
Borodin: 
Prince  Igor:  Chorus    of    the    Tartar 

Women 
Rimsky-Korsakow: 

Chanson  Indoue 
Tschaikowsky: 

Chanson  triste 
Andante  cantabile 

GERMANY: 

Wagner: 
Die  Walkure:  Ride  of  the  Valkyries 

Each: 
Suite  in  D.  Major:  Air  for  the  G  string 

Mozart: 
Quartet  in  D.  Major:  Andante 

THE  FINE  ARTS 

The  acquisition  of  knowledge  about,  and 
appreciation  of,  the  great  art  of  the  world  will 
probably  be  found  more  difficult  than  any 
other  aspect  of  culture.  In  America  it  is  par- 
ticularly difficult  for  the  man  outside  the 
great  cities  where  are  museums,  galleries  and 
the  print  rooms  of  great  libraries. 


ON  "CULTURE"  AND  "A  LIBERAL  EDUCATION"  79 

Several  facts  must  be  kept  in  mind:  the 
mere  looking  at  miles  of  pictures  in  galleries, 
the  mere  efforts  to  force  oneself  to  appreciate 
and  like  these  pictures  will  never  get  one  very 
far. 

There  is  no  particular  merit  in  a  picture  as 
a  picture.  It  might  be  well  for  the  cultural 
development  of  man  if  a  large  number  of 
existing  paintings  were  destroyed. 

Particularly  in  the  field  of  art  our  funda- 
mental axiom  that  one  must  delight  in  things 
in  order  to  advance  culturally  holds  true. 

Amid  the  hundreds  of  thousands  of  pictures 
and  statues  of  the  world  there  are  pictures 
and  statues  which  must,  perforce,  delight 
and  please  you  no  matter  what  your  tempera- 
ment or  type. 

Much  fun  has  been  made  of  the  person  who 
says:  "I  don't  know  much  about  art  but  I 
know  what  I  like." 

And,  of  course,  if  such  a  thing  is  said  in  an 
arrogant,  intolerant  spirit  it  is  rather  tiresome. 

But  one  must  "like"  works  of  art.  That 
is  what  they  are  for.  If  certain  works  of  art 
are  universally  admired,  if  we  see  that  they 
do  give  very  great  pleasure  to  many  kinds  of 
people  we  should  certainly  try  to  analyze  our 
own  failure — if  such  exists — to  appreciate  or 


80  ON  "CULTURE"  AND  "A  LIBERAL  EDUCATION" 

enjoy  them.  Pretense  or  frenzied  effort  will 
not  help.  Only  cultivation  of  our  under- 
standing, of  our  sense  of  beauty,  of  our  desire 
to  add  every  wholesome  new  pleasure  and  inspir- 
ation to  our  lives,  can  develop  appreciation. 

When  Whistler's  famous  "Battersea 
Bridge"  was  first  painted,  a  great  art  critic — • 
John  Ruskin — condemned  it  severely  and  said 
that  "an  ignorant  charlatan"  was  "flinging  a 
pot  of  paint  in  the  British  public's  face." 
When  Whistler's  portrait  of"  Miss  Alexander" 
was  first  exhibited  it  was  so  caustically  crit- 
icised by  all  the  journals  that  the  little  girl 
whose  portrait  it  was  grew  ashamed  to  be 
known  as  the  subject  of  it. 

Today  we  see  that  these  two  pictures  are 
works  of  very  great  and  distinguished  beauty. 
They  have  shown  us  beauty  where  we  had 
not,  before,  seen  it. 

The  incidents  are  mentioned  in  order  to 
show  that  there  is  no  inflexible  criterion  of 
taste  and  beauty.  Great  painters  and  critics 
who  knew  much  about  art  did  not  "like" 
Whistler's  novel  work.  Yet  it  was  beautiful 
and  is  now  so  considered. 

Let  us  consider  certain  phases  of  the  fine 
arts  not  generally  made  clear. 

There  are  two  aspects  of  all  the  fine  arts: 


ON  "CULTURE"  AND  "A  LIBERAL  EDUCATION"  81 

There  is  the  art  which  is  spiritual  stimula- 
tion— which  embodies  some  great  concept,  or 
uplifts  and  ennobles  the  beholder. 

There  is  the  art  which  merely  decorates — 
which  embellishes,  refines  life,  expresses  some 
rare  type  of  personality  or  opens  new  aspects 
of  physical  beauty. 

The  first  kind  of  art  is  the  greater.  But  it 
is  rare. 

In  it  the  artist  has  first  acquired  great 
facility,  perfected  technique  and  has,  then, 
used  these  to  embody,  or  portray  or  express 
some  great  idea  or  ideal.  His  work  may  not 
be  immediately  and  obviously  beautiful  to  the 
beholder  who  does  not  understand  it. 

The  famous  statue  by  August  Rodin  en- 
titled "Le  Penseur"  is  art  of  this  sort.  This 
great  statue  expresses  the  mystery  of  man's 
existence  and  his  tremendous  curiosity  as  to 
the  meaning  and  purpose  of  his  life. 

A  man — appreciative  of  such  work — who 
suddenly  sees  this  statue  while  lost  in  thought 
about  some  immediate  personal  problem  or 
about  some  trivial  or  banal  experience  or  ad- 
venture, is  brought  hard  and  fast  up  against 
the  thought  of  the  tremendous  mystery  of  his 
own  mere  existence.  He  is  lifted  out  of  im- 
mediate trivialities  into  a  higher  plane  of 


82  ON  "CULTURE"  AND  "A  LIBERAL  EDUCATION" 

thought.  "Le  Penseur"  is  not  pretty  or 
graceful.  It  has  nothing  to  say  to  the  shal- 
low, the  vulgar,  the  stupid.  But,  neverthe- 
less, it  is  a  great  work  of  art.  It  has  rhythm 
and  great  beauty  for  those  who  understand. 
It  embodies  a  great,  eternal  conception. 

So  with  the  famous  drawings  of  Albrecht 
Diirer — made  about  the  time  America  was 
being  discovered.  Here  is  marvellous  tech- 
nique, almost  unbelievable  capacity,  used  to 
express  great  universal  ideas.  To  those  whose 
taste  and  understanding  have  been  vitiated 
or  destroyed  by  the  mere  prettiness  which  is 
called  "art"  in  America  these  prints  may  ap- 
pear not  only  incomprehensible  but  even  ugly. 
Yet  study  the  print  entitled  "Melancholia" 
or  the  one  entitled  "Ritter,  Tod  und  Teufel" 
(The  Knight,  Death  and  the  Devil). 

The  first  of  these  symbolizes  the  melan- 
cholia, the  hopelessness  and  despair,  which 
come — at  some  time — to  all  men.  All  the 
instruments  of  science  are  left  unused.  And 
the  winged  figure  broods  as  men  brood  when 
all  effort  seems  hopeless. 

In  the  second  picture  the  knight — repre- 
senting the  disciplined  aspiration  of  man — 
progresses  despite  all  obstacles.  The  pleas- 
ure city  on  the  hill  does  not  allure  him,  death 


ON  "CULTURE"  AND  "A  LIBERAL  EDUCATION" 

and  the  devil  do  not  hinder  him,  the  knowl- 
edge that  life  is  fleeting  and  incomprehensible 
does  not  stop  him.  He  goes  on  his  way — 
as  the  aspiration  of  man  must  always  go — 
despite  melancholia,  despite  doubt  and 
evil. 

Over  each  of  these  pictures  one  can  ponder 
and  study  for  hours — discovering  new  ex- 
cellences, new  beauties.  The  fact  that  any 
man  could  draw  as  these  pictures  are  drawn  is, 
in  itself,  remarkable  while  the  fact  that  the 
great  facility  is  used  to  express  universal  ideas 
of  life  renders  the  pictures — like  the  statue  of 
Rodin's — great  works  of  art. 

A  Corot  painting  of  a  misty  landscape  is  a 
very  fine  type  of  decorative  art. 

Most  art  is  decorative  art.  It  is  infinitely 
diverse.  It  assumes  a  million  forms.  It 
shows  every  aspect  of  life  as  seen  by  every 
type  of  man.  There  is  no  normal  man  or 
woman  who  cannot  find  some  great  picture 
or  statue  or  other  work  which  will  delight 
them.  It  may  be  one  of  the  sun-saturated 
paintings  of  the  Spaniard  Sorolla;  it  may  be 
an  ancient  Greek  head  of  a  lovely  youth;  it 
may  be  a  virile  and  startling  picture  by  the 
German  Stuck  or  an  etching  or  painting  by 
the  Swede  Zorn. 


84 


ON  "CULTURE"  AND  "A  LIBERAL  EDUCATION" 


The  field  is  so  great,  so  wide  that  one  can- 
not write  of  it  except  in  broad  and  sweeping 
terms.  But  the  great  fact  remains:  the  fine 
arts  exist  to  inspire  or  to  delight  you.  You 
must  equip  yourself  with  the  understanding 
and  appreciation  to  receive  what  they  have 
to  give. 

There  follows  a  list  of  books  which  deal 
with  art  and  artists  in  such  manner  as  may 
cast  new  light  upon  the  subject  of  art  and 
may  awaken  imagination  and  appreciation 
and  send  one  seeking  to  see  the  great  works 
described. 


ELIE  FAURE: 
AUGUST  RODIN: 
JULIUS  MEIER-GRAEFFE: 
CARL  LARSSON: 
JAMES  HUNEKER: 

CAMILLE  MAUCLAIR: 

GEORGE  MOORE: 
S.  REINACH: 


ROCKWELL  KENT: 
E.  A.  PARKYN: 
BANISTER  F.  FLETCHER: 
ROYAL  CORTISSOZ: 


History  of  Art 

Art 

Modern  Art 

Das  Haus  in  der  Sonne 

Promenades  of  an  Im- 
pressionist 

The  French  Impression- 
ists 

Modern  Painters 

Apollo — An  illustrated 
manual  of  the  history 
of  art  through  the  ages 

Wilderness 

Prehistoric  Art 

History  of  Architecture 

Art  and  Common  sense 


ON  "CULTURE"  AND  "A  LIBERAL  EDUCATION"  85 

RICHARD  MUTHER  :  History  of  Modern  Paint- 

ing 

FRANK  WEITENKAMPT:  How  to  Appreciate  Prints 

SAMUEL  ISHAM:  History      of     American 

Painting 

CONTACTS 

Books,  music,  pictures,  magazines — these 
are  accessible  to  almost  everyone.  They  are 
valuable,  indeed  essential,  to  the  development 
of  culture  or  of  a  broad  and  liberal  and  in- 
formed outlook  upon  life. 

But  personal  contacts  are  also  necessary. 
The  clarification  of  thought,  the  stimulation 
of  interest  which  come  from  discussion  or 
from  enjoyment  shared  with  others — these 
make  life  infinitely  more  zestful  and  colorful. 
They  give  a  mellowness  and  joy  which  solitary 
enjoyment  of  literature  and  art  can  seldom 
give. 

All  who  desire  culture  should  seek  contact 
with  people  of  similar  tastes,  inclinations  and 
enthusiasms. 

The  essence  of  culture  is  growth,  develop- 
ment— like  ripples  spreading  in  water.  Per- 
sonal contact  with  other  growing  and  aspiring 
minds  can  stimulate  this  growth  and  develop- 
ment illimitably. 


86  ON  "CULTURE"  AND  "A  LIBERAL  EDUCATION" 

There  is  a  free  masonry  between  men  of  real 
culture  before  which  barriers  of  race  and  age 
and  class  go  quickly  down.  Two  men,  for 
example,  who  discover  that  each  has  read  and 
liked  W.  H.  Hudson's  "Green  Mansions" 
have  an  immediate  bond  of  understanding 
which  sport  or  business  can  rarely  give.  De- 
velop a  sincere  and  enthusiastic  appreciation 
of  music  and  art  and  you  will  find  new  con- 
tacts without  effort.  Like  is  drawn  to  like. 
Develop  an  enthusiastic  interest  in  life,  in  lit- 
erature, in  disinterested  knowledge  and  you 
will  find  that  your  acquaintance  with  culti- 
vated people  will  enlarge  surprisingly. 

The  mere  surface  qualities  which  so  many 
Americans  look  upon  as  "culture"  need  little 
attention.  Make  yourself  a  fine  person  and 
automatically  these  qualities  will  develop. 
For  a  fine  person,  of  necessity,  thinks,  feels 
and  acts  finely.  Acquire  a  proper  sense  of 
the  dignity  and  mystery  of  life,  a  proper  sense 
of  the  beauty  and  splendor  of  the  world  and, 
inevitably,  dignity  and  fine  courtesy  must 
develop. 

Efforts  to  acquire  the  mere  surface  aspects 
of  culture  without  the  reality  underneath  are 
quite  like  the  efforts  to  secure  rosy  cheeks  with 
rouge  rather  than  by  wholesome  life  and  pro- 


ON  "CULTURE"  AND  "A  LIBERAL  EDUCATION"  87 

per  exercise  and  food.     Little  satisfaction  is 
gained  and  few  observers  are  fooled. 

A  wise  man  has  said:  " Produce  fine  people. 
The  rest  will  follow."  Make  yourself  a  sin- 
cere and  aspiring  person.  The  rest  will  follow. 

THE  TECHNIQUE  OF  READING,  BOOK 

COLLECTING  AND  LIBRARY 

BUILDING 

To  develop  mentally,  the  reading  of  obvi- 
ously trivial,  silly  or  foolish  books  must  be 
abandoned  completely.  Any  kind  of  pleasure 
which  such  books  are  capable  of  giving  can  be 
secured  in  greater  measure  from  worth-while 
books. 

The  vocabulary  cannot  be  enlarged  unless 
resort  is  made  to  a  good  dictionary  to  gain  the 
real  meaning  of  unfamiliar  words.  A  good 
dictionary  is,  hence,  indispensable.  The 
habit  of  referring  to  atlases  and  encyclopae- 
dias must  also  be  acquired  if  knowledge  and 
understanding  are  to  be  other  than  very  su- 
perficial. The  famous  encyclopaedias  are 
very  desirable  if  they  can  be  secured.  The 
smaller  and  inexpensive  Nelson  and  Every- 
man's Encyclopaedias,  however,  occupy  little 
space  and  have  much  merit. 


ON  "CULTURE"  AND  "A  LIBERAL  EDUCATION*' 

Too  much  reading  is  inadvisable.  There 
are  many  men  who  have  read  themselves  stu- 
pid. Wisely  planned  and  directed  reading  is 
not  likely,  however,  to  produce  such  an  ef- 
fect. 

Excellent  books  can  now  be  obtained 
in  small  pocket  editions.  The  Haldeman- 
Julius  Company  at  Girard,  Kansas,  publishes 
some  hundreds  of  volumes  by  the  most  fa- 
mous writers  of  all  lands  and  ages.  These 
little  books  can  be  bought  for  less  than  ten 
cents  apiece.  Carried  in  pocket  or  handbag 
they  can  render  pleasant  and  profitable  many 
hours  which  might  otherwise  be  frittered 
away  on  newspapers  or  magazine  fiction. 
The  Everyman's  Library  publishes  nearly  a 
thousand  volumes  of  the  greatest  books  of  all 
time.  Excellent  material  is  to  be  found  in 
the  "Home  University  Library,"  uThe  Mod- 
ern Library,"  "The  Wayfarers'  Library"  and 
similar  small  and  inexpensive  volumes  put  out 
in  uniform  binding  by  various  publishers. 

New  books  must  be  purchased  from  book- 
shops selling  such  books.  But  it  is  to  be  re- 
membered that  the  great  books  of  the  past 
can  be  secured  at  "second-hand"  or  "old" 
book  stores  for  amounts  sometimes  almost 
incredibly  small.  True  book  lovers  have  al- 


ON  "CULTURE"  AND  "A  LIBERAL  EDUCATION"  89 

ways  been  drawn  to  old  book-stores.  Brows- 
ing among  their  shelves  one  encounters  un- 
expected and  unimagined  volumes  on  every 
conceivable  subject.  Such  stores  are  fre- 
quented by  interesting  men  who  know  and 
love  books.  The  best  old-book  shops  have 
something  of  the  atmosphere  of  the  literary 
clubs  and  coffee  houses  of  an  earlier  period  in 
England. 

Those  who  would  build  a  library  should 
certainly  seek  out  such  stores.  And  all  those 
who  seek  continuous  mental  growth  should 
seek  to  build  libraries  no  matter  how  small. 
If  a  book  is  worth  reading  it  is  worth  possess- 
ing. A  true  library  is  merely  an  external 
reflection  of  the  owner's  knowledge  and  inter- 
ests and  aspirations. 

Collections  of  framed  prints  of  great  master- 
pieces and — if  one  plays  no  instrument — a 
collection  of  fine  graphaphone  records  can 
also  give  enduring  satisfaction  and  pleasure. 
They  turn  a  house  into  a  home.  They  create 
an  oasis  of  beauty  and  peace  in  a  restless 
world.  They  are  not  expenditures  in  any 
real  sense  but  investments  which  pay  divi- 
dends of  thousands  per  cent  while  retaining 
the  principal  almost  intact. 


90  ON  "CULTURE"  AND  "A  LIBERAL  EDUCATION" 

In  building  a  library — or  any  collection- 
destruction  and  wise  selection  are  almost  as 
essential  as  acquisition.  If  your  library  is  to 
be  a  true  delight  it  must  be  filled  only  with 
keen  and  alive  books  which  have  really  stimu- 
lated or  delighted  you.  To  intermix  such 
books  with  dull  or  stupid  volumes  which  one 
has  inherited  or  acquired  in  boyhood  is  to 
lose  the  essential  feeling  of  your  library  as  a 
perfect  thing,  however  small.  Discard  from 
your  shelves  all  stupid  and  dull  and  stodgy 
books.  You  would  not  mix  stupid  and  dull 
and  stodgy  people  with  your  brilliant  and 
stimulating  friends  if  you  could  help  it.  Your 
favorite  books  are  your  friends.  Your  fav- 
orite pictures  and  records  are  your  friends. 
Do  not  insult  them  by  putting  them  in  com- 
pany with  trivial  or  silly  or  vulgar  books  and 
pictures  and  records. 


CONCLUSION 

The  colleges  and  universities  of  America 
cost  the  country  hundreds  of  millions  of  dol- 
lars each  year. 

The  students  at  these  colleges  and  univer- 
sities give  from  four  to  eight  years  to  attend- 
ance at  thousands  of  lectures. 

Many  highly  trained  technicians  in  the  var- 
ious sciences  are  graduated  from  the  colleges 
each  June. 

But  it  is  an  indubitable  fact  that  the  aver- 
age college  or  university  graduate  in  America 
is  scarcely  to  be  considered  either  a  cultured 
or  a  liberally  educated  man  if  any  valid  stand- 
ards are  used  by  which  to  gauge  him. 

A  small  book  of  this  kind  can  scarcely  hope 
to  give  in  a  few  hours  what  costly  and  elab- 
orate institutions  of  learning  do  not  give  in 
many  years. 

Yet  all  real  education  is  self-education. 
Too  often  the  very  intricacy  of  colleges  causes 
confusion  and  lack  of  perspective.  The  stu- 
dent cannot  see  the  forest  for  the  trees.  He 
rather  expects  knowledge  to  be  instilled  into 
him  by  some  mysterious  process  without  much 


92  ON  "CULTURE"  AND  "A  LIBERAL  EDUCATION" 

effort  on  his  part.  Often  he  studies  in  order 
to  pass  examinations  rather  than  to  learn  for 
his  own  benefit.  The  social  relations  and  the 
many  highly  specialised  courses  cause  forget- 
fulness  of  the  main  object. 

There  are  numerous  very  real  and  practical 
reasons  why  solitary  reading  according  to  a 
plan  and  program,  as  suggested  in  this  book, 
may  give  many  men  and  women  what  col- 
leges might  not  give  them. 

The  great  essential — whether  at  college  or 
outside  college — is  to  develop  a  new  curiosity 
about  every  phase  of  life,  and  to  set  to  work 
to  gratify  that  curiosity,  to  utilize  every  brain 
cell,  to  know  and  to  feel  to  the  limit  of  one's 
possibilities. 

Your  mind  is  more  than  a  kingdom.  It  is 
an  illimitable  empire. 

Reign  in  it! 


-Tgg^r 


I 


V 

-YD  05326- 
05333 


4969 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


